L.A.S.S & ME:
Since 1988 until 2008, I had been committed and significantly involved in HIV/AIDS campaigning, education, training, awareness-raising and service provision, particularly with 'Leicestershire AIDS Support Services' (LASS), initially for 2 years as a Volunteer and Management Committee member and then 18 years as an employee.
For 20 years, I was at the forefront and beginning of the creation and development of a major HIV/AIDS voluntary organisation/charity (originally called 'Leicestershire AIDSLine') and of HIV/AIDS responses and services in Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland, campaigning for the rights of people living with HIV; challenging the ignorance, prejudice and discrimination that some of the already most marginalised people were facing; and fighting for the funding and recognition of local support services.
In February 2008, following the appointment four months earlier of a new CEO and subsequently a decision by the Board of Trustees, I was informed (without any prior discussion or indication, even in Supervision, by simply the handing over of a letter) that due to proposed 'restructuring' of the organisation, the post of 'Training & Development Manager' would no longer exist, causing me to be 'at risk of redundancy'.
As no suitable alternative employment within LASS or any ideas about how my substantial knowledge, skills, experience and dedication of over 20 years could be utilised within the agency was suggested or proposed by the employer, I was made redundant and left LASS after 20 years involvement (18 years employment & 2 years as a Volunteer) on 22nd February 2008.
It was an amazing 20 years associated with LASS and being at the beginning, forefront and development of the response to HIV, hopefully having played a significant role in it all, especially educating, informing and I hope having an impact upon thousands of people from so many groups and organisations.
It was only the last four months really that were the worst and most frustrating time, particularly witnessing what I believed to be the worst decision ever made by LASS to introduce a CEO following the original Director/Founder leaving, especially with the appointment they made, and a previously high quality HIV agency (that cared about its staff and volunteers) beginning to disintegrate before my eyes. Style over substance, empire building, and getting rid of anything or anyone that might challenge the new order sort of comes to mind.
However, I will never forget those people, especially so many Gay Men, particularly those living with HIV, who in the very early days faced such oppression, stigma and the likelihood of death, who were so inspirational and significant in getting HIV recognised and fighting for the right to exist; be heard; have funded agencies; be treated with respect; educate others; and take control over their own lives and the right to die with dignity.
Our biggest resource has always been the ‘people’. Buildings, equipment, policies, procedures, guidelines, strategies, and fancy job titles, etc, merely by themselves don’t provide services or educate people, etc - but committed, motivated, valued, knowledgeable, trained and supported people do.
Over the years, the paid staff, supporters, student placements, and volunteers (nearly 500 in total and around 180 volunteers at our height) have given so much. The hundreds of enquiries to become involved and then being committed enough to wait for one of the regularly held comprehensive training programmes (daytime or evening), followed by well attended weekly support groups and on-going training; the huge commitment of volunteers providing care and support (especially respite for the many people close to death); the vibrant, exciting, and motivational feel; and the many years of commitment shown.
LASS and HIV services (which many now benefit from and some enjoy a living with) were only here because of the hard work; huge amounts of hours put in (particularly voluntarily); the sweat, tears, sacrifices and death of many people, particularly early on and over many years. It is unlikely that many people today will realise, know about, or perhaps even care about this and the reality of what it was like medically, especially the amount of death that was so prevalent.
However, this could happen again if complacency about transmission; the benefit of treatment; the development of drug resistance or longer-term side effects of the drugs; and lack of appropriate vigilance, becomes significant and increases.
Without those living with HIV grasping the nettle and being brave enough to stand up publicly and be counted (despite the fear, stigma, prejudice and hatred) nothing would have developed. Whilst so much stigma and prejudice still exists today, things will never change without such bravery and continued hiding and the colluding in the silence will never challenge the status quo.
LASS (or ‘Leicestershire AIDSLine’ as it was originally called) was ‘special’ because initially we were the only ones doing anything and were ‘different’ to other services; and particularly because of the diverse people who significantly cared and were personally affected in some way who came together to make a difference, mainly doing it ‘voluntarily’ or feeling motivated, valued and supported to work way in excess of contracted hours; were united, driven, highly motivated, clear about their purpose, and with less ‘bureaucracy’ could better use energy, time, limited resources, etc, to get on and directly support, educate, inform and campaign.
Whilst I’m sure that today there are some who might want to criticise and dishonour what went before, it must be seen in the context of the time and without it those that are here today, wouldn’t be.
I am proud of what LASS, together with the support of many other people and organisations, achieved in educating, informing and supporting people; helping to develop services; challenging stigma, prejudice and discrimination; achieving better treatment for people affected; and doing what we can to make sure HIV was kept on the agenda and the specific needs of people living with HIV were not forgotten or totally subsumed into broader responses.
I would like to thank the many thousands of people and groups and organisations I have had the privilege to provide training for and work with over the last 20 years, especially the past and present LASS Volunteers.
At the LASS AGM on 27th November 2008, I was awarded 'Honorary Life Membership' of LASS “in recognition of the significant contribution made to the HIV and AIDS field”. Whilst I wasn’t personally invited to attend the AGM by the agency, and although being totally saddened by what the organisation had now become; the volunteers and staff who had left or from what I understood to have been forced out; how the agency was now being run; the way some people were being treated; and what I believed to be a decline in standards and quality, I was pleased to receive this in recognition of my 20 previous years helping to start and develop LASS, particularly as a Volunteer, and the huge successes of LASS during the time I was proud to be employed with them.
It's just a shame that such substantial knowledge, skills and experience of over 20 years in HIV/AIDS, Sexual Health and related-areas has been lost and will no longer be utilised.
In November 2012, LASS published their written history of the first 25 years of LASS. Despite being involved in 20 years of those 25 years, I can’t say that I was particularly surprised to have not even been asked to contribute with a brief name mention, despite having helped develop so much of the organisation from it's early days, and being so significantly involved. .
Twenty years of substantial involvement as:
• One of the first Volunteers and early Management Committee members.
• The first of what would later become many student placements, whilst I was a final year student on the ‘Youth & Community Development’ course at ‘Leicester Polytechnic’. Being involved as an assistant project co-ordinator in administrating training and other tasks, most importantly an action-research study into service provision and the direct experiences of people living with HIV which highlighted some key concerns that were addressed with the Director of Public Health and changes achieved.
• The third paid member of LASS staff in November 1989.
• The key person creating, developing and delivering their Volunteering Programme for around 500 volunteers, receiving national recognition & praise and ‘Investing in Volunteers’ accreditation.
• The comprehensive external training that was well-evaluated and delivered to over 17,000 people from most groups & organisations throughout Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland.
• A major public representative of LASS through hundreds of media/press appearances.
Despite this and substantial other involvements locally, nationally and internationally, such background, knowledge and experience wasn’t utilised or featured in the written history book. Apart from the odd name mention in the text, myself (and some notable others) have generally been airbrushed out of history.
For unsolicited comments from people following my redundancy, visit the section in this website.
Since 1988 until 2008, I had been committed and significantly involved in HIV/AIDS campaigning, education, training, awareness-raising and service provision, particularly with 'Leicestershire AIDS Support Services' (LASS), initially for 2 years as a Volunteer and Management Committee member and then 18 years as an employee.
For 20 years, I was at the forefront and beginning of the creation and development of a major HIV/AIDS voluntary organisation/charity (originally called 'Leicestershire AIDSLine') and of HIV/AIDS responses and services in Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland, campaigning for the rights of people living with HIV; challenging the ignorance, prejudice and discrimination that some of the already most marginalised people were facing; and fighting for the funding and recognition of local support services.
In February 2008, following the appointment four months earlier of a new CEO and subsequently a decision by the Board of Trustees, I was informed (without any prior discussion or indication, even in Supervision, by simply the handing over of a letter) that due to proposed 'restructuring' of the organisation, the post of 'Training & Development Manager' would no longer exist, causing me to be 'at risk of redundancy'.
As no suitable alternative employment within LASS or any ideas about how my substantial knowledge, skills, experience and dedication of over 20 years could be utilised within the agency was suggested or proposed by the employer, I was made redundant and left LASS after 20 years involvement (18 years employment & 2 years as a Volunteer) on 22nd February 2008.
It was an amazing 20 years associated with LASS and being at the beginning, forefront and development of the response to HIV, hopefully having played a significant role in it all, especially educating, informing and I hope having an impact upon thousands of people from so many groups and organisations.
It was only the last four months really that were the worst and most frustrating time, particularly witnessing what I believed to be the worst decision ever made by LASS to introduce a CEO following the original Director/Founder leaving, especially with the appointment they made, and a previously high quality HIV agency (that cared about its staff and volunteers) beginning to disintegrate before my eyes. Style over substance, empire building, and getting rid of anything or anyone that might challenge the new order sort of comes to mind.
However, I will never forget those people, especially so many Gay Men, particularly those living with HIV, who in the very early days faced such oppression, stigma and the likelihood of death, who were so inspirational and significant in getting HIV recognised and fighting for the right to exist; be heard; have funded agencies; be treated with respect; educate others; and take control over their own lives and the right to die with dignity.
Our biggest resource has always been the ‘people’. Buildings, equipment, policies, procedures, guidelines, strategies, and fancy job titles, etc, merely by themselves don’t provide services or educate people, etc - but committed, motivated, valued, knowledgeable, trained and supported people do.
Over the years, the paid staff, supporters, student placements, and volunteers (nearly 500 in total and around 180 volunteers at our height) have given so much. The hundreds of enquiries to become involved and then being committed enough to wait for one of the regularly held comprehensive training programmes (daytime or evening), followed by well attended weekly support groups and on-going training; the huge commitment of volunteers providing care and support (especially respite for the many people close to death); the vibrant, exciting, and motivational feel; and the many years of commitment shown.
LASS and HIV services (which many now benefit from and some enjoy a living with) were only here because of the hard work; huge amounts of hours put in (particularly voluntarily); the sweat, tears, sacrifices and death of many people, particularly early on and over many years. It is unlikely that many people today will realise, know about, or perhaps even care about this and the reality of what it was like medically, especially the amount of death that was so prevalent.
However, this could happen again if complacency about transmission; the benefit of treatment; the development of drug resistance or longer-term side effects of the drugs; and lack of appropriate vigilance, becomes significant and increases.
Without those living with HIV grasping the nettle and being brave enough to stand up publicly and be counted (despite the fear, stigma, prejudice and hatred) nothing would have developed. Whilst so much stigma and prejudice still exists today, things will never change without such bravery and continued hiding and the colluding in the silence will never challenge the status quo.
LASS (or ‘Leicestershire AIDSLine’ as it was originally called) was ‘special’ because initially we were the only ones doing anything and were ‘different’ to other services; and particularly because of the diverse people who significantly cared and were personally affected in some way who came together to make a difference, mainly doing it ‘voluntarily’ or feeling motivated, valued and supported to work way in excess of contracted hours; were united, driven, highly motivated, clear about their purpose, and with less ‘bureaucracy’ could better use energy, time, limited resources, etc, to get on and directly support, educate, inform and campaign.
Whilst I’m sure that today there are some who might want to criticise and dishonour what went before, it must be seen in the context of the time and without it those that are here today, wouldn’t be.
I am proud of what LASS, together with the support of many other people and organisations, achieved in educating, informing and supporting people; helping to develop services; challenging stigma, prejudice and discrimination; achieving better treatment for people affected; and doing what we can to make sure HIV was kept on the agenda and the specific needs of people living with HIV were not forgotten or totally subsumed into broader responses.
I would like to thank the many thousands of people and groups and organisations I have had the privilege to provide training for and work with over the last 20 years, especially the past and present LASS Volunteers.
At the LASS AGM on 27th November 2008, I was awarded 'Honorary Life Membership' of LASS “in recognition of the significant contribution made to the HIV and AIDS field”. Whilst I wasn’t personally invited to attend the AGM by the agency, and although being totally saddened by what the organisation had now become; the volunteers and staff who had left or from what I understood to have been forced out; how the agency was now being run; the way some people were being treated; and what I believed to be a decline in standards and quality, I was pleased to receive this in recognition of my 20 previous years helping to start and develop LASS, particularly as a Volunteer, and the huge successes of LASS during the time I was proud to be employed with them.
It's just a shame that such substantial knowledge, skills and experience of over 20 years in HIV/AIDS, Sexual Health and related-areas has been lost and will no longer be utilised.
In November 2012, LASS published their written history of the first 25 years of LASS. Despite being involved in 20 years of those 25 years, I can’t say that I was particularly surprised to have not even been asked to contribute with a brief name mention, despite having helped develop so much of the organisation from it's early days, and being so significantly involved. .
Twenty years of substantial involvement as:
• One of the first Volunteers and early Management Committee members.
• The first of what would later become many student placements, whilst I was a final year student on the ‘Youth & Community Development’ course at ‘Leicester Polytechnic’. Being involved as an assistant project co-ordinator in administrating training and other tasks, most importantly an action-research study into service provision and the direct experiences of people living with HIV which highlighted some key concerns that were addressed with the Director of Public Health and changes achieved.
• The third paid member of LASS staff in November 1989.
• The key person creating, developing and delivering their Volunteering Programme for around 500 volunteers, receiving national recognition & praise and ‘Investing in Volunteers’ accreditation.
• The comprehensive external training that was well-evaluated and delivered to over 17,000 people from most groups & organisations throughout Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland.
• A major public representative of LASS through hundreds of media/press appearances.
Despite this and substantial other involvements locally, nationally and internationally, such background, knowledge and experience wasn’t utilised or featured in the written history book. Apart from the odd name mention in the text, myself (and some notable others) have generally been airbrushed out of history.
For unsolicited comments from people following my redundancy, visit the section in this website.