Alan is a man in his early 60s from Nigeria. When he first came to The Food Chain in 2013, he was struggling with his mental and physical health. His HIV diagnosis had affected him badly, and he was experiencing stigma that stopped him from communicating or sharing experiences with other people living with HIV. He was very isolated, and the stress of his asylum application made it more difficult to cope. “Immigration is a very horrible situation. You are thinking about immigration. You are thinking about your health condition, your [HIV positive status] and lack of job, and all those kinds of things. They can continue to give you a depressive mood.”
Due to his complex situation and lack of support, Alan’s HIV clinic referred him to a local HIV service, which then referred him on to The Food Chain. A couple of weeks later, Alan came to an Eating Together lunch. He vividly remembers this first visit: “When I came to The Food Chain, I started to meet people like me: I’m not the only one in this situation! I said, thank God. Thank you. Thank you for bringing me here. Thank you for The Food Chain accepting me coming here. It was like winning a lottery.” To him, The Food Chain felt “a special and lovely environment”, a free and supportive place he had never imagined. “I said, oh my goodness, is there a place like this? Is it real? I was so happy.”
Once he started attending Eating Together regularly, he found himself a part of a new community. “I no longer isolate myself. It broadened my understanding. All this made me feel: look, I shouldn’t bother myself anymore. I shouldn’t have any negative thoughts. Because many people are here to help, to support. Now I think: I’m happy!” Alan’s journey to refugee status took many years, so he was relieved that The Food Chain accepts re-referrals after 12 months. Now The Food Chain’s community has come to constitute such a big part of his social and emotional support, Alan is very happy that he can continue to be referred for as long as he needs.
For anyone unsure about coming to The Food Chain, Alan said there is no need to worry. Personal information is confidential, and the environment is free of stigma: “The Food Chain will give you the advice and information that will change your mindset. For people like me, I [would] advise them to come to The Food Chain. They can give you the best they have. There will not be any stigma around [your] health condition in The Food Chain. [You] can feel relaxed, associate, and enjoy the moment.”
Advice from The Food Chain’s Dietitians over the years has helped Alan adopt healthier habits, resulting in improvements to both his physical and mental health: “The Food Chain has revolutionised my way of thinking and my lifestyle […] Now I’m very cautious about what I eat and how I cook it. I try as much as I can to cook according to the instructions and advice from the experts. It has been very, very helpful to me.” Beyond food, Alan has also changed how he cares for himself – taking medication regularly has helped keep his HIV health stable and opened new possibilities in life.
“Now I’m confident.” he says. “I can stand anywhere. As I am taking my medication, I know that I will not fall ill. Being positive doesn’t define me, doesn’t reduce my knowledge, my understanding, and my attitude. I feel that, even though I’m positive, that does not mean that I don’t know how to do the right things. And socialising with people is okay.” He now goes out, attends social events, makes new friends at church and school, and lives meaningfully “I have been advised by my colleagues here [in The Food Chain] that we should not worry about our condition of HIV positivity. We should continue to live life as normal. So based on that, I am happy to associate myself, to chat with people, to share with people.”
The Food Chain also helped Alan in many practical ways, including finding him support with housing and applying for benefits, and even purchasing new utensils or essential items of clothing: “They did all these for me, everything that I need. Being able to be here today speaking to you is because of the support from The Food Chain. I’m so grateful. Words cannot explain it. They even know my shoe size!”
Something Alan talks about often is the support he received from Anna, the CEO, whom he now calls “Dr Anna”. When he was applying for refugee status, Anna wrote a letter of support that impressed Alan’s solicitor. “My lawyer asked me, ‘Who wrote this letter?’ I said, ‘A senior staff member of the Food Chain.’ The lawyer told me he thought the letter would be very helpful”. It ended up playing an important role in his successful application, and so in Alan’s eyes, Anna has been his “Dr Anna” ever since.
Talking about the staff and volunteers made Alan beam with joy and gratitude: “People are here to look after you and support you. They are here to give you the best advice. That uplift[s] your spirit. The Food Chain changed my feelings […] because of the way I was warmly welcomed.” He described staff and volunteers as “kind”, “welcoming”, “understanding”, “caring”, and “having compassionate hearts”. During the COVID pandemic and lockdown, they didn’t forget about him. “If not because of The Food Chain, I don’t know what [lockdown] would be like. I don’t have any family here, and I don’t know anybody in this country. I only have The Food Chain and my church. During COVID, the support was immense. They called me all the time, sent food to me all the time, and asked if I was OK.”
Now, Alan feels relief from so much of the depression, anxiety and isolation that affected him after he was diagnosed. “I am active now. I’m no longer in a depressive mood. Since I began visiting The Food Chain, I am now mentally stable. I can do whatever I was doing before I became HIV positive. With the support from The Food Chain, I would like to live. If The Food Chain wasn’t by my side, helping me, supporting me, maybe I would be thinking: Is life worth living? No one here to help me. No one here to guide me. No one here to support me. But their involvement has changed that narrative.”
The community gives Alan a great sense of belonging, value, and dignity: “The Food Chain makes me feel: look, don’t worry about your [HIV positive] condition. We know you are in this condition, but don’t worry. That is a sense of belonging. It has given me the belief that, look, irrespective of my situation, I’m also important in society. That sense of belonging is very important.”
Names have been changed to protect anonymity.