Goodbye from Andrew

How can I say goodbye? Without a doubt the last eight years have been the most significant part of my life to date. Sure it hasn’t all been happy times; there have been highlights and downers just like any job. But on the whole I have no regrets and working with HIV services in Staffordshire has been a very special experience.

Needless to say the organisation is unrecognisable in comparison with the early days. That incredibly small stuffy office at Druglink with the use of the coffee lounge one evening per week - we coped with it because we had no choice. I’ll never forget the elation we all felt when we finally got the place that became our Hanley Centre. It was amazing how everybody rallied around, the furniture seemed to appear out of nowhere and everything just started to happen.

Then there has been our rapid development into HIV prevention work in the form of the South Staffordshire MesMen project and the Shropshire Gay and Bisexual Men’s Health Project. Both are superb community initiatives working beyond the edge of traditional health promotion. Taking that work on meant having offices in Lichfield, Shrewsbury and more recently Telford – no longer a small organisation by anyone’s standards.

So things have changed a lot but what I’ll remember most is all the people I have met.

&ldots;. Memories both joyful and sad of people who are no longer around. Names I can’t mention in a public newsletter, but lots of people who didn’t make it to the high ground of combination therapy as the tide came in. There is still a lot of grief there, I’ll never forget.

&ldots;. Then there are all the people who are still here; how we have all changed together! Some people have moved on, new faces have appeared. Dear friends who looked so ill two years ago and who are now reclaiming what they can of their lives. New hopes.

&ldots;. Volunteers who helped build Staffordshire Buddies; enthusiastic, hard working people without whom the organisation would not even exist. Our unpaid heroes - the volunteers, clients and service users, both positive and negative who are always working in the background to keep the organisation going.

&ldots;. Talented committed staff who work for love rather than money, often with little thanks for all the extra hours they put in that few people even notice. Counsellors, clinical nurse specialists and other professional colleagues who have become so close I have to remind myself that they don’t work for us! Relationships that have transcended professional roles into deeper bonds because of what we have lived through together.

So how can I say goodbye? There are literally hundreds of people who have been a part of my life over the last eight years. I have received so much more than I have given, learned so much more than I have taught. People have forgiven my mistakes, celebrated my successes, allowed me to be human and shown me so much love. Thanks to all of you and may there be a blessing on whatever path life lays before you.

I wont be disappearing just yet. I’ll be around at World AIDS Day events and after that I’ll still keep in touch from time to time. However, I’m currently following through an application with Voluntary Service Overseas and I may be going to work abroad in the new year. I’ll send an update on how these plans are progressing for the next newsletter.

Now its time to welcome our new Director, Janine Hunt. The interview process for the job was as tough as it could be and Janine demonstrated she has a great range of skills and personal qualities. I’ve already spent some time working alongside her and I think she is going to be really good for the organisation. Sure, things will be different but they will be different and as good or different and better.

It isn’t an easy job to walk in to and I hope you will all do your best to support Janine while she finds her feet. I have no doubt that under her guidance the organisation will continue to go from strength to strength and I wish Janine and all of you the very best for whatever the future may hold.

Andrew J. Colclough Director

Janine begins work with us on Monday 18^th October and officially assumes the title of Director after the Executive Committee meeting on Wednesday evening the 20^th. Andrew leaves us at the end of October.