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Bristol Civic Trust marks 30 years of HIV support in Old Market
A plaque has been unveiled in Old Market to commemorate the work of both the Aled Richards Trust and Terrence Higgins Trust which were at the forefront of the city’s response to HIV for over 20 years.
The plague reads: “This building was the home to Aled Richards Trust and Terrence Higgins Trust. At the heart of Bristol’s response to the HIV epidemic. A place of support and friendship for people living with HIV.”
The plague was placed by the Bristol Civic Society and marks an important step in remembering LGBT History in Bristol.
The funds for the Bristol Civic Society Heritage plaque were raised with a cabaret event organised by volunteers at the Watershed.
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The centre was shut in 2016 and had provided a valuable safe haven for people with HIV and their families during the particularly turbulent period of the 1990s. The building is now the base of Off the Record, which is a support charity for young people in Bristol and is active within the LGBT+ community with its Freedom Youth project.
The plaque has been used as an opportunity to honour the work of a generation of support workers and the lives of those blighted by the virus in Bristol. The performers at the fundraiser event included Singing Escorts, Sing Out Bristol, and drag act Pearl & Deen.
Aled Richards was a Bristol resident who died in 1985 after he contracted the virus. The charity was formed by his friends and originally operated a telephone helpline. The Aled Richards Trust merged with the Terrence Higgins Trust in 2000. The Bristol Civic Society is different from plaque schemes in other cities because it commemorates events and groups as well as individuals.
New treatment and better education have created a revolution in care since the centre opened. Patients receiving treatment can now have an ‘undetectable’ status, meaning they cannot pass the virus on. Better treatment now means the life-expectancy of people living with HIV is not impacted.
Sarah Fuhrmann, regional manager for Terrence Higgins Trust, said: “8-10 West Street in Bristol was at the heart of the city’s response to the HIV epidemic for more than two decades. It is close to many people’s hearts in the community, which is why it’s only right that its significance is marked properly.
“The HIV epidemic has changed and our response needs to change too. We at Terrence Higgins Trust are still 100% committed to preventing new HIV transmissions in the area through our partnership with Unity Sexual Health, as well as ensuring the necessary support is available for people to live well with HIV in collaboration with Brigstowe Trust.”
As part of Unity Sexual Health in Bristol, Terrence Higgins Trust provides a range of HIV and sexual health services, including online outreach, health promotion and condom distribution across Bristol and the surrounding area as well as free, confidential and rapid HIV testing. Terrence Higgins Trust also provides health and well-being services in partnership with Brigstowe which includes both peer support groups and one-to-one support.
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