Supporting the health and wellbeing of children and young adults living with HIV

New Families’ Weekend: Connecting families of those living with HIV

We’re excited to announce our first ever Families’ Weekend, taking place from the 14-16 April 2023 in Oxfordshire – and registration is now open! The event is designed specifically for children and young people living with HIV and their parents/carers, with siblings welcome too. Young people who have grown up living with HIV and are now parents are also welcome with their own children.

We’re running the Families’ Weekend in response to the many requests which came in from parents for something of this kind during our annual Family Conference. The residential format will be less formal and give more time and a more intimate setting for families to open up to each other, and to build new friendships and support networks with others. It will run instead of our Family Conference this year.

The weekend will provide a safe place for families to come together, share experiences, and benefit from mutual support. The programme will be framed around the ‘Five steps to wellbeing’ – hacks for a healthy mind and a healthy life. These include giving back, being active, connecting, keeping on learning, taking notice. 

Families will explore different ways of living well and thriving with HIV, sharing strategies and ideas on how to achieve the best quality of life. There’ll be sessions on mindfulness, expression through art and writing, and nutrition, taught through a family cooking workshop. The event will also help to improve communication between family members, exploring subjects that may normally be difficult to talk about.

The weekend will also offer many activities and time to relax, including walking, sitting around the campfire and adventure activities for children and young people (these adventure activities are only for the over 8s). 

Click here to find out more, register your interest or refer a family.

We’re hoping the event will foster friendships between families and a network of support across the UK, leading to further regional events or meet ups of this kind.