HEALTH CHARITY "OUTSTANDING"

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Marking Lass's success are Alastair Hudson, trustee, Juliet Kisob, HIV service manager, Narinder Popat, volunteer, Jenny Hand, chief executive, and Evernice Tirivanhu trustee

Health charity "outstanding"

by Cathy Buss, Health Correspondent

The work of a charity in helping people affected by HIV has earned it a top 10 place in a national awards scheme.

Leicestershire Aids Support Services (Lass) was one of the winners of the GlaxoSmith Kline Impact award for its "outstanding contribution to improving health" in the county.

The award, run by the King's Fund, a health care improvement charity, carried a £30,000 prize.

Celia Fisher, sexual health promotion co-ordinator with Lass, said: "It is just fantastic to be named as one of the top 10 charities for the impact of our work.

"We will use the money to strengthen lots of areas of our work and perhaps add some different services."

Lass has a staff of 16 and about 70 volunteers who help provide services.

It provides rapid HIV testing, support, information and help to people affected by HIV and AIDS.

Volunteers have been trained to carry out the testing and to provide information in some African communities, where there is a low uptake in getting tests or treatment.

The charity, set up 25 years ago, works with about 600 people affected by HIV and carries out about 400 tests each year.

Lisa Weaks, Third Sector programme manager at the King's Fund, said: "Congratulations to Lass, a strong winner in these awards.

"Its work providing support for people with HIV and bringing testing into communities is making a real difference to people's lives."

Patrick Bowe, chairman of the Lass board of trustees, said: "We are absolutely delighted to be recognised at this high level for the impact of our local work.

"Our testing programme is contributing to Government public health targets and has already saved the health service more than £3 million through encouraging more people to have an HIV test and know their HIV status.

"This huge achievement for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland is due to the continued commitment by a great team of staff and volunteers."

Lass has also won national funding from HIV Prevention EnglandMs Fisher said: "The total award was for £70,000 and through Lass we are working to raise awareness of HIV in African communities.To mark the success of the awards the charity held a celebratory event at its city offices on Monday. To watch a video about Lass's work go to:www.kingsfund.org.uk/audio-video/2013-gsk-impact-awards-leicestershire-aids-support-services

ARCHBISOP TUTU BECOMES PATRON

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Archbishop Tutu becomes patron

Archbishop Desmond Tutu has agreed to be international patron of a Leicestershire charity.

Staff at Lass – Leicestershire Aids Support Services – said they are "honoured" that such a high-profile personality has agreed to lend their support to the charity.

Officials at Lass decided to seek an international patron as a way of marking the 25th anniversary of its foundation.

They wrote to the retired Archbishop describing its journey from a struggling telephone helpline in June, 1987, for people affected by HIV and Aids to becoming Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland's leading HIV charity, supporting more than 500 affected by HIV today.

Agreeing to the patronage, the Archbishop wrote: "It is a heartwarming story.

"I am an octogenarian and have been jettisoning things and not taking on new responsibilities but I am touched by your story and will make an exception and agree to be patron of your organisation."

The Archbishop was in Leicester in July last year when he was made an honorary Doctor of Letters by the University of Leicester.

Jenny Hand, the charity's chief executive, said: "We are extremely honoured to be supported and valued by a man of such international stature. It is incredible and has given us a real boost. He is a person we admire greatly for his work with people with HIV in Africa and, of course, he has links with the University of Leicester."

The charity is hoping it will also be able to announce a national patron as it launches its 25th anniversary year celebrations on Saturday, June 9.

Ms Hand said: "HIV and Aids has changed a lot over the years and science has moved on, but there is still stigma attached to them.

"That is why for every three people who get tested there is another person who doesn't know.

"This is why our testing service is so important in encouraging new diagnosis.

"During our next 25 years we need to see how we can spread our learning to people living with long-term conditions and we will continue to help people in neighbouring areas such as Derby and Corby in developing services."

Lass, which costs about £500,000 a year to run, relies on NHS and Leicester City Council funding along with applications for money to a variety of other trusts and foundations.

It has a staff of 16 people and between 80 and 100 volunteers.

Patrick Bowe, chairman the Lass board of trustees, said it was a positive reflection on Leicester and the work done in the city across faiths and communities. He said: "We believe no better figure could have been welcomed as our international patron."

For more information go to: www.lass.org.uk

As you can imagine, this story has attracted much positive attention, locally and intrnationally. See how it's been covered in Soar Magazine and in The Zimbabwean.

VCS CEO LEADERSHIP NETWORK WELCOMES MAYOR

First meeting of the day: 0800 at Leicestershire Aids Support Service (LASS), Regent Road. This breakfast gathering of the Voluntary and Community Sector Chief Executive Officers (VCS CEO) Leadership Network is meeting with Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby and Deputy Mayor, Councillor Rory Palmer.

Leicester Council of Faiths doesn't have a Chief Executive Officer; it would be a bit mad to have a CEO in an organisation with 1.5 full time equivalent (FTE) staff - including the CEO. But I have the backing and blessing of our Chair to be here this morning and no one protests at my presence.

I came to the first of these meetings, perhaps as long ago as two years back, but then missed several on the trot and eventually dropped off the invite list. As well as ourselves and LASS, there are ten VCS organisations represented here this morning:

• Action Deafness
• Action Homeless
• Apex
• The Centre Project
• Community Advice and Law Service
• Giving World Online
• Lighthouse Learning
• Network for Change
• The Race Equality Centre (TREC)
• Stride

A sub group has been working on concrete proposals to put to the Mayor, aimed at strengthening relations between Leicester City Council and the Voluntary and Community Sector. These are focused, innovative and practical and they're all well received by Sir Peter and Councillor Palmer.

All in all, I'd describe this as a happy, positive and warm meeting, where everyone wants to work together to achieve the best outcome for the city and the sector: which are not mutually exclusive. I was glad to be a part of the Forum this morning and I look forward to being involved on a regular basis.

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE IN THE VOLUNTARY AND COMMUNITY SECTOR

At Action Deafness, Welford Road, this morning for a breakfast networking event with the theme, "Social Enterprise in the Voluntary and Community Sector in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland". Round the table are nine organisations:

• Action Deafness
• Action Homeless
• Cooke e-Learning Foundation
• Domestic Violence Integrated Response Unit
• The Emerald Centre
• Leicestershire Aids Support Service (LASS)
• Lighthouse Learning
• Network for Change
• Tomorrow Together

I'm here today speaking not only for the Council of Faiths but also for the Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership (REDP).

Jenny Hand, from LASS, chairs the meeting. It is facilitated by Jacqui Tilyard, who has worked with Business Link (amongst others) and is a freelance business trainer and consultant. She's particularly interested in the "social entrepreneur". I first met Jacqui at the launch of the Jewish Voices book, exhibition and website. Her husband, Glen, took the photos for that book and has long worked for Writing School Leicester, for which I've taught from time to time.

This meeting, and the informal network of contacts invited to it, are supported by the Modernisation Fund, which promotes collaboration and merger. The former is appealing to the VCS, the latter not necessarilly so. A few organisations which have obtained some funding from this source are committed to the network that has grown out of their involvement: how is it working? is it a network of organisations or of individuals? can it be expanded? should it be expanded? Today we discuss some of these, and related, issues: sharing resources, experience and expertise; consolidating back office functions; making joint funding bids; identifying best practice; overcoming isolation; retaining and transmitting values; tapping into our network of networks (a brief explanation of the relevance of REDP fits in here). We consider how to use the more positive aspects of our common anxiety about the future - how it is making many in the VCS world come out of their shells and reach out to others. Plans are made for moving forward, which should be taken up soon.

REDP training @ LASS

At the LGBT Centre, Wellington Street, this morning to deliver a half-day's training on equality, diversity and human rights to staff and volunteers of the LeicesterShire Aids Support Service (LASS). We in REDP received a half-day's training in HIV and Aids awareness from LASS last year, so here we are returning the service.

This is the first time we've ever done this: all four of the Core Partners jointly delivering a session together. And it is just four of us - Dee, Ian, Iris and me - without support on the spot from of any of the office staff. We have become perfectly comfortable doing this sort of joint presentation now, having honed our shctick over the last few weeks at out regional Involvement Events and we feel secure with one another, even if we have to think on our feet and make last-minute changes. Dee and Iris have been doing this sort of thing together for years, I'm a relative newcomer and Ian's the latest additon, but we seem to work well together as a team in public.

The aims and objectives of our session are: to review the equality focus of the organisation; identify the protected characterisitcs within the equality legislation; define the equality terms located within the legislation; indicate the development of action plans (organisational and personal). None of these are peculiar to LASS of course and could be readily adapted for just about any organisation with which we'd be asked to work.

My particular contribution to the day is to lead an hour or so on our "Good Practice Equality and Diversity Healthcheck". For today's purposes, we've split that into six parts, each being one section related to what we're being encouraged to call the "protected characteristics": age, disability, gender and gender identity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation. We distribute this to the attendees and get them to work through one section, in groups of three. Their responses to this form the basis of an Action Plan which will more firmly embed equality, diversity and human rights within their organisation.