The St Stephen's Volunteers: Working to Support HIV services at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in Fulham, London, UK

St Stephen's Volunteers are a
part of the St Stephen's AIDS Trust
Registered Charity Number
1002285

Vitamin Scheme

Hospital open Day 2007

The Information Exchange runs a successful discount vitamin program, enabling patients to purchase from over 100 quality nutritional supplements at reduced prices.

Letters, Comments and E-Mails you have sent in to us.

Name: Jean Hunt
Country: London England

A Volunteer on The Medical Ward

Around 1982/3 I first learned that my son was gay, I took the news very badly, we did not fall out, but I felt that his life would be very sad and lonely. Around the same time I started to read about a new illness that was appearing in San Francisco.
It was affecting mostly young men and causing much suffering and bad health. Over the next couple of years more and more people were becoming ill, and many were dying. They were mostly young gay men. I worried about it constantly, and feared the worst. There appeared to be several cases in London by now, and lots of horrendous advertisements were appearing in the Press.

About this time I read an advertisement asking for volunteers to work in the old St .Stephen's Hospital with people with HIV. I did not think I would be accepted as I felt I was too old, and did not have much skill, it was mostly for drivers to bring patients to and from the hospital, and I did not even drive. Anyway I was invited to attend a training weekend, there were about 20 of us, one of the speakers was a Sister from T.Mac and she asked if there was anyone who could cook, and would start a special Tea Party day, on the ward, it would bring patients out of their rooms and be a very social occasion.
I volunteered for this, and started the very next week. It proved to be a great success and is still going on to this day. We now also try to be on the ward every day for tea, and also every evening for a tea and biscuit round. We also work in Day Care and the Outpatient clinic.

After a few years the Hospital was demolished, all patients went to the Westminster Hospital while a new hospital was being built, the volunteers went with them, it took about 10 years to build and then we all returned to the new Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. We kept the name St .Stephen's Volunteers as by now we had formed a good group.

That brings me up to today, I am the only one left of the original Volunteers, but over the years we have recruited many more and now have about 30 very dedicated volunteers doing much work. We have the support and trust of the staff who really treat us as one of the team.

For myself, it changed my life, I have met many wonderful people, have made lots of deep friendships, have traveled to many countries to meet up with them, have had patients and their families stay at my home. There as also been a lot of sadness and loss. I did eventually lose my son which has been my hardest battle, but I received so much support from everyone, and although it is never far from my mind, I managed to get through it with their help. One other thing I have learned is to be able to listen to patients and often their families.

I love Tuesday afternoons, I love being on the ward and try to give pleasure to all, staff and patients alike, but they give me so much more.

I must also mention my family, who have supported and encouraged me
at all times.

Jean Hunt

'I felt I had something to offer again'

HIV sufferer Franco Di Giovanni was out of work and out of touch with the world - but then volunteering helped rejuvenate his life

Thursday June 7, 2007
SocietyGuardian.co.uk

I am 54 and have been HIV positive for 20 years. I left full-time work for health reasons eight years ago. For a while afterwards, I felt a sense of relief.

Working full-time, feeling ill and having to comply with a complex drug regime is exhausting. However, finding myself with vast stretches of time to fill and a sudden loss of structure to daily life, I soon realised that lack of purpose could be as damaging as too much stress.

Even though I have many caring and understanding friends, I felt left out of things with nothing much to say. Social and cultural events and holidays became meaningless in a homogenised world which lacks the accomplishment associated with personal effort. Luckily my health, although very bad at times, has never been bad enough for me not to care about these issues.

My feelings at the time were of low self-esteem, lack of confidence, aimlessness, guilt and a sense of loss. I thought it far too soon to be retiring and losing all career prospects. And although I was receiving my own pension from my previous employers, I was also receiving some benefits, which made me feel unpleasantly dependent. I worried obsessively about money.

This cocktail of negativity all led to a general feeling of panic mixed with exaggerated morbid fears caused by having too much time on my hands. I found that by doing less, it became increasingly difficult to do anything. And I was getting little exercise, so I felt bad both mentally and physically.

I decided to take some action and was offered excellent support by my own doctor and by the mental health unit at Chelsea and Westminster hospital. Voluntary work and part-time education were suggested as possible ways to improve my mental health.

On a visit to Baltimore, a friend of mine showed me the vast range of work carried out by voluntary organisations over there. I saw people from all backgrounds, many suffering from health problems, cleaning up litter from city streets, helping the homeless and giving support to hospital services. Their enthusiasm and sense of purpose was infectious. I realised there were probably the same opportunities at home, and that volunteering could be my salvation.

Walking past the hospital one day I noticed the offices of the St Stephen's Volunteers and the Information Exchange. I walked in and applied for a role as an information volunteer. St Stephen's offers support for HIV-positive patients at the Chelsea and Westminster hospital. The Information Exchange, which is based in the outpatients' clinic at the hospital, provides information for patients and hospital staff about HIV and related issues.

At first I volunteered twice a week and the work was very light and uninvolved. That was enough for me at the time and it felt like a great achievement. I immediately benefited from the structure given to my week. I started feeling more integrated into society and slowly regained confidence and self-esteem.

Life seemed more balanced and enjoyable. Volunteering stimulated other interests. After endless complaints from friends that my garden looked like an overgrown wasteland, I finally started to do something about it. Unintentionally I was getting more exercise and developing an interest in horticulture.

I enrolled for a part-time horticulture course at my local college and, after two years, successfully completed it. Regular volunteering and a new interest that provided regular exercise were making a huge difference to my mental and physical health. I felt like I had something to offer the world again.

In time my involvement with the Information Exchange grew. I will always be grateful to the volunteer manager for the chance he gave me. Suddenly, momentum began to build and I started to enjoy the responsibility and challenge.

At that time, new HIV medications and an easier drug regime with fewer side effects were improving my general health. Mentally, I began to feel much more confident and no longer inferior to others. I tried to develop and promote the information service, which by now was well established. Through this work I realised how important it is to feel accepted and to be part of a team.

I no longer feel aimless. I have a sense of purpose and achievement and feel I am contributing to society. I am aware of my skills and recently found that they compare favourably to those required for a range of paid jobs. For me this is important to know. However, I also realise now, for the first time, that the value of work cannot be measured only by money.

Volunteering for the St Stephen's Volunteers has opened up so many possibilities for me and changed my life for the better. I feel lucky to be not only a patient at the Chelsea and Westminster hospital but also to have had a chance to contribute towards it.

Volunteering here has been an enlightening experience. Not only has it improved both my mental and physical wellbeing but I have learned a lot about myself and life in general.

· Volunteers' Week is coordinated in England by Volunteering England