HIV Conversations @the MediCinema

Date

Wednesday 4th October, 2017

Time

6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Location

Chelsea & Westminster Hospital
369 Fulham Road
London

Details

HIV Conversations is a new initiative at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, where each month, a different speaker explores different aspects of living with HIV, such as diagnosis, fighting stigma, love, dating and sex. Staged in the hospital’s state-of-the-art MediCinema, which the public are invited to attend. The HIV Conversations take place on first Wednesday of each month.

Joshua Anderson

Before diagnosis, Joshua would not engage with potential partners that were HIV positive. Since diagnosis he went on his own journey to understanding life as a HIV positive man, and also a journey that challenged his own deep-rooted beliefs and what he calls his own “personal ignorance”. Joshua has developed as a person since then, and has found a strong community of people with support from organisations such as Terrence Higgins Trust and Positively UK.

Being HIV positive in 2017 is a lot different to being positive in 1987, but there are still some very real challenges that HIV positive people can face. Joshua will speak about this candidly, and will draw on his experience of the last three years.

Joshua currently volunteers as a peer mentor for Positively UK, and supports their Gay Talk group. He was also part of the Through Positive Eyes global photographic collaboration with HIV activists from around the world, with Gideon Mendel and the UCLA Art & Global Health Centre

Sound recordings of the previous conversations are archived online.

The colourful MediCinema is on the 3rd floor (Lift Bank C) and has capacity for 40 seats, 6 wheelchairs and 4 beds, which as well as providing conference facilities, enables patients to enjoy time away from wards.