Across Greater Manchester and beyond, thousands of people living with HIV are supported every year by George House Trust, based round the corner from the Manchester Community Central Office, a charity that has been standing alongside and supporting those living with HIV since 1985. Although HIV today is a completely treatable and preventable condition, stigma, misunderstanding and inequality shape many people’s experiences of living with HIV. We interviewed Darren, to talk about what motivates him to do this work, where the real barriers to equality lie, and what he sees for the future of George House Trust.
Over its four decades of service, George House Trust has grown from a volunteer-run helpline into a key regional organisation, providing advice, information, counselling, peer mentoring, advocacy, and tailored support for diverse communities across Greater Manchester and across the North West.
What motivates you to keep pushing forward on ensuring people living with HIV can live well and confidently?
Darren shared, “HIV is a completely manageable, treatable, preventable condition. My motivation is about making sure people know their status and that if they’re living with HIV, that they have the support they need to live well.”
He continued, “so many people come through our doors at George House Trust feeling lost when they’re diagnosed or struggling with something. It can have a real impact on their health and wellbeing,” ultimately sharing how small, practical support can transform lives.
“Really simple things can be put in place to get people back on top of everything so they can take their medication and live healthy, positive lives and do whatever they want to do.”
Despite medical advances, stigma and inequality still persist. Where do you think the current barriers currently lie for those living with HIV, and what needs to change?
Darren reflected, “stigma is an overused word, but it’s an important one in the context of HIV because it impacts everything. It’s a barrier to testing because people think if I find out I’m living with HIV, who do I tell? What do I have to tell them? What if people at work find out? What if my kids or my partner find out? There’s fear there.”
Building on this, Darren shared the significance of discrimination, in which underpins stigma – “the prejudice, the hate, the lack of information or the misinformation. Hidden deep within that, sometimes bubbling to the surface, are homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, racism, sexism. All the -isms and -ists. We’ve got to make progress there because they all compound each other.”
Darren described HIV as a health inequalities issue rather than simply a condition. “There are populations at higher risk and often those same populations are at higher risk of other conditions too. Sometimes that’s about identity and poverty which is often an underlying factor.”
Earlier this year, the Greater Manchester Coroner issued a warning of several preventable deaths that occurred because HIV testing wasn’t offered when it should have been. Assumptions are made about who “gets” or could have, HIV.
Darren reflected that this happened because “maybe they ‘didn’t look like the kind of person who gets HIV,’ or they were a straight white woman, and people assumed they couldn’t possibly have HIV. There were four deaths that were completely preventable and avoidable. That’s stigma at a structural level. Assumptions that cost lives and it was good that this is being called out by the coroner, as we’ve got to learn from it.”
Darren reminded us, “if we really want to tackle HIV stigma, we’ve got a lot to sort out. It’s not just a six-letter word, it’s about societal attitudes. We’re making progress, but we’re not quite there.”
Can you share a story or a moment that captures why this issue really matters to people living with HIV today?
“We have a group of people who use their lived experience (another very popular word) to share their stories of living with HIV and to inspire and educate others. I have the privilege of sometimes listening to these stories, and the journeys are very different. It might be a straight man who was injecting drugs. It might be a woman who had children and found out during pregnancy. They’re all so different.”
Darren shared that at the heart of each of these stories, there is one theme that repeats: is fear, loneliness and isolation. “What we’ve been able to do at George House Trust is bring people together as a community to support each other in solidarity.”
“I don’t want to pick one story – there are so many, thousands just here in Manchester. And they are deeply personal to each individual. But the beautiful thing is that when people find their voice, they go on to do wonderful things.” For example, Darren commented on one woman who set up her own charity after her diagnosis to help others, someone else who was involved with George House Trust also ended up on television as an advocate and activist.
“I like to see us as a factory for activism,” Darren laughed, “helping people inspire themselves and others, and share their journeys to make the world better.”
How does George House Trust’s work connect with wider efforts in Greater Manchester’s voluntary and community sector?
“The thing I love about George House Trust is that we work in partnership with anybody, because HIV affects anybody.” The voluntary and community sector is all about social justice, tackling inequalities and improving health and wellbeing, so partnership is easy and natural, reflected Darren.
“There’s actually too much to do, we need more funding!” he laughed. “We have a partnership project with LGBT Foundation and BHA for Equality called the Passionate about Sexual Health programme. BHA works with local-majority communities, LGBT Foundation works with LGBTQ+ communities on HIV prevention and sexual health, and George House Trust provides the post-diagnosis support for anyone living with HIV. We’ve been doing that since 2017 and it’s a really positive project.”
More broadly, Darren explained that he is interested in how organisations and systems understand health inequalities and cultural competence. “We engage with groups like the Voluntary Sector Leadership Group or the Health and Wellbeing Leaders at Manchester Community Central. There’s shared goals, and we’re fighting the same battles.”
Darren also shared his ultimate ambition for George House Trust – “there’s an ambition of mine that George House Trust doesn’t need to exist in the future as it should be every one in our sector’s role to put ourselves out of business. I want to see a day when wherever someone goes in Manchester, they get what they need regardless of their HIV status, and feel comfortable and confident talking about it. That we’ve achieved a world where HIV holds no one back.”
Working with the voluntary sector is key to making this a reality.
George House Trust has always championed the idea that people living with HIV should lead their own narratives. What does meaningful empowerment look like in practice?
At the heart of George House Trust’s philosophy is a simple belief, that people living with HIV should lead their own narratives.
“I think meaningful empowerment is where people empower themselves not where we as an organisation do the heavy lifting. Yes, there might be times when we need to advocate for someone because, for whatever reason, they don’t realise they have a voice or can’t find it or don’t know how to use it. But really, our job is to help people find the skills and talents they already have, so they can take up their own leadership. And we’re completely committed to that.”
This is achieved through a range of programmes at George House Trust, involving people living with HIV. “We have peer navigators based in clinics who use their lived experience to share with others and inspire them. We’re very much a volunteer-led organisation with 160 volunteers and about 35 staff, so almost 5 volunteers to every staff member. It’s fascinating and brilliant. We couldn’t do what we do without volunteers, and many of those volunteers are living with or affected by HIV in some way.”
“They lead our services, whether that’s counselling, volunteer driving, or a whole range of roles and they’re using their experience to support and inspire others. I think there’s no greater form of empowerment than enabling that to happen.”
Darren further explained the central role of volunteers at George House Trust explaining the significance of the trustee board. “We’re also led by a board of trustees, 70% of whom are living with HIV. Our staff team is similar with around 70% are people living with HIV. So lived experience is written right through the organisation. Many of the people who work here have been volunteers, fundraisers, or have had some personal connection to the cause before finding their pathway into employment and some have moved on to do great things”. So we’re a bit of a factory for people living with HIV to go on and do whatever they want to do, and that’s really important.”
But what’s crucial is that empowerment doesn’t have to happen here – “we had funding from the Manchester Voluntary Community Sector Grants Fund at Manchester City Council over the past three years because we found that many people who volunteered with us were developing skills, confidence, and opportunities, but then felt they had to stay here because they were living with HIV. It’s great that they found their voice and their talents with us, but they don’t have to stay. Go and use those skills somewhere else. Go and follow your dreams.”
Darren reflected on how this funding allowed George House Trust to create a programme to inspire people to do exactly that, a skills, work and volunteering programme aimed at helping people explore career options, understand what they could do at university, and learn about volunteering opportunities across the city.
“We also worked with Manchester Community Central on their volunteering offer, getting people involved there, and helping them see that volunteering doesn’t start and stop at George House Trust. You don’t have to volunteer for an HIV organisation just because you’re living with HIV. That’s a big part of empowerment too.”
What gives you hope for the future?
“There’s a goal to end new diagnoses by 2030. That’s ambitious and really positive. But there will still be people living with HIV in 2031, because we’re not going to cure it unless something radical happens. So what gives me hope is knowing organisations like ours will still be here to help people living with HIV continue to thrive until we’re no longer needed. That security matters.”
Darren explained that George House Trust are really hopeful to see an end to new diagnoses and that fewer people will need support – “to the point where we can eventually shut our doors! But until then, we have so many people with us on this journey. People passionate about tackling HIV stigma, going into schools, working with workplaces, educating, advocating, making life better for people living with HIV.”
“That’s what gives me hope, the sheer number of people who care so deeply and do a flipping fantastic job.”
If you would like to find out more about George House Trust, the support they offer, or how you can get involved, visit their website here. Whether you are looking for information, community, or ways to get involved, George House Trust continues to stand alongside people living with HIV and champion a future free from stigma.