Positive
East
provides a wide range of social and support groups for a variety
of different communities. For all of our groups, we suggest that
you come along for an introductory informal chat before attending
your first group.
If you would like to receive a newsletter about services and activities provided by Positive East and the Gay Men's team, please send your email address to GMST Newsletter, or telephone Positive
East on 020 7791 2855 with your details.
It can be difficult to keep up to date with all the various groups, events and activities which happen within Positive East.
So to make life easier we've introduced a calendar page. This shows on a monthly basis all the programmes which we run within Positive East sites, along with outreach and Forum events we are involved in - We hope you find it of use.
Further Information
Himat has produced two resources.
One is for parents of South Asian Gay Men (Himat
Courage), which looks at some of the myths about being gay
and explores the questions they may have.
The other is for South
Asian Men who have sex with men (Himat
Rakho) who are coming to terms with their sexuality,
discussing some of the questions people often ask about being gay.
If you would like to know more about the group, or would like copies of the leafets (they will be posted discretely or are available from all Positive
East sites), please contact Fazal Mahmood on 0207 791 2855, or by
email.
For many South Asian gay men, facing up to
being different can be full of unique problems. Being a minority
within a minority, they can experience a strong sense of isolation
from other gay men.
They may also find it difficult to access information
regarding sexuality, HIV transmission, emotional and physical issues,
condoms and sexually transmitted infection information
One of the main
problems is that they often find it difficult to meet other South
Asian men who share their sexual orientation, especially if they live
with their families. They may be forced to
conceal their sexuality and even enter “sham” marriages due to intense
cultural pressures.
Positive East is running is a support group to address these issues.
The group is called Himat, which takes its name from
the Hindi/Urdu word for “courage”.
Himat takes
the lead to meet the particular emotional and practical needs of South
Asian gay, bisexual men and men who have sex with men in East London.
Himat meets on the third Tuesday of the month in a
Central London location from 6.00pm to 9.00pm. This
is a safe and confidential space to talk about whatever you would like to talk
about.
The event activities will be decided by the group closer to each date.
Himat