Every year Leeds City Council provides BHA Leeds Skyline with funds to host an annual World AIDS Day event at The Civic Hall, Banqueting Suite. The event was hosted by a service user of BHA Leeds Skyline, who wore a glistening red ball gown and gave her thanks to BHA Leeds Skyline and the Brotherton Wing for their continued efforts in supporting people living with HIV to access support and adhere to their HIV care.
Lord Mayor Cllr Dan Cohen delivered a powerful and heartfelt speech, in which he called for an end to HIV stigma. He also celebrated the work of Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust’s (LTHT) commitment to the Emergency Department (ED) testing programme, BHA’s work in supporting people living with HIV, and ongoing work in supporting those who are lost to follow up. The Lord Mayor also praised BHA, Leeds City Council, Mesmac and the communities we support in the delivery of the FastTrack community grants, referencing the I-tested poster campaign currently on the billboard in Millennium Square.
Dr Emma Page provided a brilliant speech on the ED testing, providing insight on outcomes and impact. Dr Page spoke passionately about the 55,000 BBV tests performed within the Leeds Emergency Departments and the impact this had for the patients, earning an applause break. Audience members in the room reported feeling reassured, impressed and happy to learn of the BBV testing team’s efforts as the result the speech.
Volunteer Akhona Ndudane, who featured in the I-tested poster, delivered a beautiful speech calling for an end to HIV discrimination and stigma. Akhona reflected on her own experiences referencing the compassionate health care that she had received from her team, asking Dr. Amy Evans to stand from within the audience to receive recognition and applause for the care her team provides.
Two BHA Staff members read out extracts provided by BHA service users; the service users could not attend in person but have given consent for their contributions to be added to the event.
The BHA invited attendees to write, and hang wishes for people living with HIV on a little Christmas tree during a moment of reflection. The Tree of Wishes was well received with wishes ranging from good health to accessible ART for African countries. The tree is currently at BHA Leeds Skyline for our service users to enjoy over the festive period, BHA will then use the wishes in the summer for further projects when the the UK AIDS Quilt comes to Wakefield.
For the event, BHA Leeds Skyline welcomed the musical talents of Danny Prochera. In a bid to reduce HIV stigma and strengthen our message to the wider community, BHA chose a singer with no previous links to our HIV community.
Danny’s talent was well received, when asked about the event Danny stated: “I found the World AIDS Day Memorial event to be highly informative, both somber and uplifting. HIV has always been a subject that hasn’t really been spoken about in my experience, so it was a real eye opener to hear positive accounts of people living with the condition and their interactions with the support available. It’s great how their lives have been improved by Leeds Teaching Hospitals and organizations like BHA.”
BHA Leeds Skyline would like to thank Geoff Turnball, LCC, for his continued support in ensuring this event goes ahead each year, providing people with HIV with a safe space to reflect on their experiences, stigma experienced and give thanks to their clinical teams.