Brigstowe Project’s future uncertain

For 21 years, Brigstowe Project, a HIV charity in Bristol, has been a continuously beating heart. But its future is very uncertain. 

Situated in a secluded street in Easton is the base for Brigstowe Project, a front-line, responsive charity which provides support for people with HIV. Here, a small team create space for people with an illness that still provokes stigma, additional needs, and, in some cases, major life alterations. But this small sanctuary of support is being backed into a corner.

In January, a city council review of funding areas was announced in an effort to plug a £91m deficit in spending. In the maelstrom of cuts proposed, the reduction in Brigstowe Project was bigger than most and worse than feared; a 100% reduction which would leave the charity with few places to turn. in February, these cuts were confirmed.

The project is able to help 24 people at one time, and these people are some of the most vulnerable and hardest hit by the disease. Polly Theedom at Brigstowe explained the importance of the service: “many of our clients have experienced stigma and many mainstream services do not provide HIV-specific support. Living with HIV has its own set of needs, and one-size fit all services can’t offer that”.

“Fear of discrimination from statutory services is still apparent, a fear which is not unfounded” Rami Ghali, Brigstowe coordinator said.

One client who didn’t want to be named recalled: “There is a saying that you can take a person out of the village but you cannot take the village out of the person. I would say you can manage HIV with medication but that medication cannot manage the mental trauma and the social stigma. I was grateful for being in place where medication was accessible but there isn’t time to mend our brokenness thereafter”.

“When I tried to commit suicide my doctor in Southmead referred me to Bristol city council HIV specialist social workers. Unfortunately that team was decommissioned in 2006. Brigstowe were there for me when I couldn’t stand alone.”

Another client explained his experience: “Following an accident I was left with a condition that is aggravated by HIV. I was forced to stop working, about to be made homeless, and thrust into financial difficulties. It is no exaggeration that Brigstowe saved my life.  They helped me find a new home. I never thought I would need benefits, and to this day I wish I didn’t have to, but they helped me to fill in the many complicated forms. But most of all, they were there to advise me on how to get solutions, adapt, and carry on.

Housing and helping with welfare benefits is just one area in which Brigstowe help. For 21 years, Brigstowe Project have helped with health and community care, isolation, debt, counselling, and even immigration and asylum issues. With the closure of the Terrence Higgins Trust base in Old Market, Brigstowe offers a lifeline for people struggling with their HIV diagnosis.

Furthermore, the services Brigstowe Project offer are largely to people from the LGBT+ and the black and minority ethnic communities; this blow will hit “the marginalised of the marginalised,” according to the Rami.

“We appreciate the challenges the council is facing, but cuts as deep as these are a false economy, and their true impact will be felt later on”.

The council said in a statement: “With relatively few options available and its original draft proposals not completely closing the budget gap, with the current financial position nearly all previously announced savings will go ahead if approved.”

Brigstowe Project is faced with an immensely difficult future and with money for the voluntary sector set to shrink over the next five years according to the Bristol City Council’s Impact Fund. Having been able to secure limited funding from the Impact Fund, this vital charity faces an uncertain future.