menu
Health

Support, hugs, love and ‘appiness for the HIV community

Besi Besemar April 7, 2017

The world has moved on since the 1980s when a HIV diagnosis became a death sentence or a cue to withdraw from society.

People living with HIV now have the same life expectancy as those who are not thanks to advancements in treatment, however, stigma when socialising – along with disclosing one’s status – are both persisting issues in 2017.

In the fight against HIV, we speak of equality yet even with the community itself all things are not equal.

Living in a city means that you are usually within striking distance of support and health services – vital life lines that will support someone through the ups and downs of such a diagnosis. So, what happens to those who are learning to live with a diagnosis in more rural areas?

Living with HIV means a massive change in lifestyle, as well as continuous concerns of stigma and discrimination, consideration must be given to treatment regimens along with options for future. While we all need support from time to time, considering such things does require specialised support which can be extremely difficult to access.

Northern Ireland is a case point – with only one dedicated HIV support centre in the province, for many people the commute to Belfast is unsustainable due to the physical and financial drain meaning they must go without this vital coping mechanism.

Andrew Goyvaerts (28) from Northern Ireland had experienced such a journey, both metaphorically and physically, by spending hours travelling by bus to access HIV support services following his own diagnosis in 2013. Instead of giving into the situation he decided to work out a way for him and others in the same position to address this problem, Andrew decided that an online support platform would be the most viable solution.

Further to this, as anyone living with HIV will tell you, forming new relationships and dating is one of the biggest challenges faced in life following diagnosis.

At first, Andrew sampled mainstream apps yet found there was no simple way to disclose his newfound status – and when he did, on more than one occasion his experiences was off-putting to say the least.

And so, Andrew created ‘Hugs’ a social/dating app for people living with HIV that aims to provide an online support forum while also raising awareness to the condition among the public and dispelling myths that play a factor in so many experiences of stigma.

Hugs is a welcoming and easily accessible digital space where members of the HIV community – both heterosexual and LGBT – can come together for support and friendship. After just one year, Hugs has hit 7,500 downloads with plans to launch more features, including a peer support group this Autumn (2017).

Andrew Goyvaerts
Andrew Goyvaerts

Andrew Goyvaerts, Founder/CEO, of Hugs, said: “Living with HIV does bring with it more hope than ever before but coming to terms with such a diagnosis does take time and people need support. Having arrived at the concept of the Hugs app, I sought funding from a government agency but they deemed the project too controversial, following this I secured funding from an amazing private investor – the rest as they say is history.

On a personal level, Hugs isn’t a capitalist venture – it’s born from my own experience and something I hope to grow into a sustainable lifeline that will be available for decades to come. The Team behind Hugs are asking for greater understanding and support outside of the HIV community, so that we all may begin to overcome the stigma of a positive diagnosis. Our “Undetectable equals Untransmittable” campaign underlines the fact that people living with HIV who are undetectable while consistently taking medication cannot transmit the virus – a message that we want to share outside of the HIV community. This is a labour of love for me, but it’s time to get greater support”.

For more information about HUGS, click here:

To obtain from the Android store, click here:

Or email: ceo@lwslimited.com

Or telephone: +44 7525 121107

X