Mission Statement
Brigstowe’s vision is a world in which people living with HIV and other long-term health conditions, live long and healthy lives, free from poverty, stigma, prejudice and discrimination. Brigstowe’s mission is to enhance the quality of life for people living with HIV and other long-term health conditions.
Values
We pride ourselves on treating our clients with respect and dignity, with the highest regard for confidentiality. We work hard to ensure that our services are accessible, person-centred, non-judgmental, professional and of a high quality at all times. We seek to keep clients at the heart of all we do through involving them in the management of our organisation, service development and recruitment. We are aware that we need to continually evolve and develop our services to meet the ever-changing needs of people living with HIV. To this end, we welcome feedback from clients and partner organisations to help us improve our services. We are committed to partnership working to ensure that our clients receive the best possible service to meet their specific needs.
We value Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) at Brigstowe and are working hard to keep these values at the forefront of what we do. Please find below our first EDI Strategy and Action Plan. It sets out Brigstowe’s commitment, vision and ambition to do more to create an inclusive society and workplace and outlines the commitments we are making from 2023 to 2026. You can also find our EDI Policy linked below.
History
Brigstowe grew out of the ‘Bristol HIV & Housing Group’, which was comprised of representatives from Bristol City Council Social Services HIV Team, the Housing Department, Avon Health, Bristol Churches Housing Association, Bristol Drugs Project and the Aled Richards Trust. The group’s aim was to identify and plan for the housing needs of people living with HIV in the area. In the early 1990s, following a research report commissioned by the group, Bristol Churches Housing Association obtained capital funding to build 8 new purpose-built houses on scattered sites.
A development worker was appointed in 1994. After consultation with local people living with HIV, who expressed a strong preference for independent, HIV-specific housing management, the Brigstowe Project registered as a charitable company in 1995. In 1996, we won the national Sir Roy Griffiths Award for excellence in housing and community care.
Until March 2010, we managed 16 properties owned by Places for People; this ceased in April 2010, although we do continue to hold nomination rights. Since then, we have worked hard to ensure that the organisation is sustainable amidst repeated funding cuts from local authorities, whilst continuing to provide high-quality services to our clients. We are always striving to improve and develop our services to meet the changing needs of people living with HIV.
Service Quality
Our Information and Advice Service was recently awarded the Advice Quality Standard, demonstrating our excellence in this area. The auditor wrote:
I was delighted to see so many Areas of Good Practice, where the Organisation has exceeded the requirements of the AQS to a significant extent. It is important to note that the Areas of Good Practice arise in every section A to G of the AQS, a significant achievement in itself.
Other areas of good practice highlighted by the audit were the ‘deep in-house expertise and committed diligence,’ a ‘constantly high level of service delivery of independent advice’ and ‘consistently high level of recorded client satisfaction,’ (AQS Audit Report March 2013).
We are also registered with the Office of Immigration Services Commissioner to give Level 1 immigration advice.
Our Housing-Related Support Service was reviewed at the end of 2013.
The report, issued in February 2014, said:
The Reviews Officers (ROs) found the floating support service to be of high quality. It is person-centred, focused on achieving outcomes and is tailored to individual need.
During the four-day visit, the Review Officers anonymously interviewed almost half of our clients. The report stated:
One client said in an interview, “Brigstowe showed me I could achieve things that I didn’t think I could.” Another said, “Support has changed my life for the better.” These comments are representative of the other clients the Review Officers met. Client feedback highlighted the importance they attach to having a housing support service specifically for people with HIV.
Service Development
Over the years, the Brigstowe Project has proven its adaptability, flexibility and ingenuity. In these times of such economic unrest, it is as important as ever to be able to offer thoughtful, high-quality services that meet Brigstowe’s aims whilst being on budget. In addition to endeavouring to improve and develop our existing services, Brigstowe is interested in developing new services that aim to help people living with or affected by HIV, as well as inform and support other professional organisations to be better equipped to support people living with HIV.