In 2009 a grant of £23,800 was awarded to us to deliver an exciting new young people’s project; ‘Re-Writing History’. This project has been kindly supported by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund.

We will recruit 12 young people to lead this unique heritage research project which will explore the personal and political history of the LGBT movement in Britain over the past 50 years.Young people will have the fantastic opportunity to learn about LGBT history through working with key influential organisations that have fought for justice and equality for LGBT people, including Stonewall and Schools Out.

They will also interview community activists from the local London community; the ‘unsung heroes’ whose stories are in danger of being forgotten. Most excitingly the young people's work will culminate with the opportunity to work with the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (presented by the British Film Institute), enabling them to share in the celebration of the LGBT community’s history as well as celebrate their own achievements.

This will see the project transformed into an educational resource tool which will help teach other young people about the challenges and the great achievements faced by Britain’s LGBT community.

We've been awarded a grant of £24,915 from the Volunteering in Wales Fund via the WCVA in 2009. The project will develop volunteering across our Cymru services by employing a part-time Volunteer Services Co-ordinator to support the recruitment of new volunteers. Volunteers will support our health promotion teams, community support services, campaigning and our fundraising functions across Wales.

This will significantly increase the work of THT across Wales through providing a dedicated, diverse team of volunteers who will not only support existing services but also ensure that we can expand the range of support available for Welsh residents living with, or affected by, HIV.

In November 2007, Terrence Higgins Trust received a grant of £110,672 from the Big Lottery Fund to establish a HIV Wellbeing Project for people living with HIV in Yorkshire. This three year project provides the opportunity for people living with HIV to become volunteers and deliver peer support to other people living with HIV.

This unique service puts people living with HIV at the core of the project. Volunteers deliver confidential one-to-one support as well as group based training on a range of key issues such as disclosure of HIV status.

A grant of £1,485,621 was awarded by the Big Lottery Fund in April 2007 for THT’s flagship Young Leaders project. This groundbreaking project is truly young people led from start to finish. THT recruits and trains young people from 7 English regions to award funding to other young people who design, implement and deliver sex and relationship education (SRE) within their own communities - in places like their own youth clubs.

Each project is supported by the Young Leaders who help their peers to plan, deliver and evaluate their innovative SRE projects. Not only do the young people benefit from developing the skills to make informed decisions about sex and relationships but they also gain a range of skills for future employment and education opportunities, such as project management, budgeting and communication skills, as well as the opportunity to obtain Open College Network accreditation.

A grant of £98,979 was awarded by Comic Relief in 2008 for the SWISH project in London. This project supports young female sex workers and young women at risk of becoming involved in the sex industry. 

Through this project we support the young women to safeguard their sexual health and reduce their personal risk. Often they do not perceive themselves to be selling sex and many are homeless, involved in gang culture or have drug and alcohol addictions and exchange sex for accommodation or drugs. They are trapped in a vicious cycle, with limited opportunities.

We work the young women to increase their self esteem and basic assertiveness skills, whilst challenging their perceptions of sex work. Through offering regular support and guidance that addresses their multiple needs we aim to empower the young women, allowing them to consider positive future opportunities including tackling addictions and seeking alternative forms of income.

Statutory funding

THT has also benefited from funding from statutory sources, including the Home Office, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Department of Health. In addition we manage numerous contracts for care and support services for people affected by HIV on behalf of local Primary Care Trusts.