Photo: Nathaniel Hall by Andrew Perry
1 December 2019 marked the 31st year of Worlds AIDS day.
This is the day on which the international community remembers the people it has lost, raises awareness and increases understanding of the virus and promotes action against the epidemic.
Since W.A.D started in 1988 attitudes to HIV have improved significantly, but it still carries a stigma for many and is often not helped by continued negative stereotyping. In one of the highest profile examples, professional ruby player Gareth Thomas chose to ‘come out’ in September this year about his HIV status, including choosing to make a national TV programme about his story – as a reaction to press intrusion with his own family.
Result CIC has been involved in working with people living with HIV for several years. We have run several coaching support programmes for people living with HIV, two of them partnering with specialist charity, George House Trust.
One of Result CIC’s coaching clients in 2017 was Nathaniel Hall. Nathaniel became HIV positive aged 16. He chose to not tell others about his status until he was 30 years old. He then developed the confidence to do so. This year he has performed his own highly successful one-man show ‘First Time’ in Manchester and at the Edinburgh Festival about his experience. Nathaniel describes his show as a tool of his activism to end the stigma surrounding HIV.
If you are interested in how coaching could help you or your organisation, please contact us.