Through peer-led interventions, our Champions of Change project aims to change perceptions of these issues in BAME communities.
Service users are involved every step of the way to design and deliver interventions that are tailored to their needs. This helps to break down the barriers that make it harder for them to access HIV and sexual health services.
Champions work with community groups, faith leaders, students, professionals and individuals of African, Caribbean, Asian and Latinx heritage to:
- Challenge stigma.
- Increase knowledge about HIV and sexual health.
- Increase testing.
- Promote condoms and other safer sex methods.
- Identify and address barriers to accessing services.
The project provides free training for people in BAME communities to become Champions, who go on to promote good sexual health and HIV awareness within their communities. Champions receive ongoing support to devise and deliver their own outreach.
Champions of Change also provide free training to staff in organisations who work with and for BAME communities around understanding and supporting sexual health needs.
‘For me being a Champion is a way of empowering communities through health knowledge. I feel this initiative is key in bridging the gap in sexual health disparities amongst marginalised groups.’ – Kyia Omoshebi, Midwife and Champion
Our next steps
Having successfully delivered the project in Bristol, we’re now trialling Champions of Change in a number of services across England, including Brighton & Hove, Suffolk, and Essex & Thurrock.
Going forward, we’d like to see this model of working right across Terrence Higgins Trust services, and to create learning that can be shared with other sexual health organisations across the sector.
