One

The following text is narrated by Husseina Hamza, founder of Red Ribbon Living Well, in collaboration with Erick Obanda and Adetunji Omotosho. It refers to the organisation's history in relation to one of the locations on the “We are Here… We are on the Move” Route. In order to see the full list of places, as well as the texts and videos related to them, please access the Route page.

August 2009 – September 2010, Beginning

Red Ribbon Living Well was established after the big organisation in southeast London (Positive Place in Deptford) closed down and went into liquidation.

Positive Place was an organisation supporting people living with HIV and running weekly peer support group for LGBTQ+, Black African and Caribbean communities.

After a month I received a phone call from L S L South London Commissioner, who asked me if I could apply for funding and continue to run the support group, as they thought I would be a good leader. I had only been in the UK for 5 years, I was worried about my legal status, I didn’t have any experience of running a support group, and there was no financial resource on offer nor a suggested place to meet. When I was at the Positive Place I met Florence Daada and we forged a friendship as sisters. I called her and let her know about the phone call from the commissioner, so we decided to hold Friday meetings at Florence’s Garden. Florence introduced me to her sister who had been in the UK for ten years and was working in mental health care. She helped us to put in a funding application but we were not successful

We started our support group, Red Ribbon Living Well, without knowing how. But we did this because people from our communities were under-represented in health care. Many group members felt judged and realised they were being treated differently to white people. This made it difficult for them to trust health care professionals. We also tried to support group members by visiting hospital wards and speaking with health professionals.

This was our dream: to advocate for members, to work with other healthcare organisations, to have these connections, and to have the potential that a charitable organisation should have. Now our goal is to strengthen the relationship with all the partners.

About Red Ribbon Living Well

Red Ribbon Living Well (RRLW) is a community-led voluntary organisation supporting individuals affected by and living with HIV, mental health and family survivors of domestic violence in Lewisham and surrounding areas. The group was founded in 2009 by members who recognised the need for peer support in the community, and it has grown from its grass-roots beginnings. More information can be found on: redribbonlivingwell.org