Later Life

The support structure that was so hard fought for in the past is now being withdrawn or depleted and those places of support and integration, the drop-in centres are all but a thing of the past. Isolation for many older positive people is not uncommon.

Living through those times and surviving HIV has left many survivors with complex psychological difficulties, not yet properly addressed or understood. And while combination therapies keep many alive, the daily grind of survival can be tough, mentally, physically and financially.

As one survivor put it in their interview with us: “we prepared ourselves to die but the hardest part has been learning how to live.”

With this in mind the aims of the project are to create a broad and eclectic archive and social history resource that will ensure such a crucial time can never be forgotten while at the same time acting as a resource for this community’s needs.

A planned series of annual conferences will place living longer with HIV centre stage.