As I write this, I am on a train returning to London from Newcastle where Anna and I have been on a visit to the Blue Sky Trust .
What a great HIV support charity they are. Based close to the city centre our colleagues there provide a lovely welcoming space for people living with HIV in the north east. They also provide services in Cumbria.
In their building, they have ‘The Living Room’ which is a very comfortable space where their support groups take place or people can simply spend time in a safe, relaxing environment. It was a lovely place to visit and the team members we met were couldn’t have been more welcoming.
We were there to talk about how we might be able to work together to help them develop some food and nutrition support services for their service users. They have a kitchen on site, and lots of interested service users and potential volunteers. As we know, that is a great recipe for success! We may be able to work together on a project similar to the ‘Food for Life’ course that we developed with George House Trust in Manchester a couple of years ago.
It’s always good to meet other organisations that are doing fantastic work to support people living with HIV in the UK and to have the chance to share our experience, knowledge and expertise. A big thank you to Mandy and Helen who made us so welcome and also treated us to a delicious lunch. We look forward to working with the Blue Sky Trust in the future.
We are all getting ready for a busy summer of events and activities. I hope we will see you in the kitchen or on the march for Pride, or at a cake sale, bingo or dinner in the weeks to come. It’s going to be action packed! See you along the way.