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Shout! Sheffield's alternative space for gay and bisexual men will be holding a quiz night at Affinity bar on Thursday 16th July. Starting at 9pm there will be prizes and giveaways and an opportunity to find out more about Shout! - everyone is welcome to take part. Hope to see you there

In June 2009, a pilot HIV testing campaign was launched for gay and bisexual men in Sheffield. The campaign aims to increase the options available on how and where to take an HIV test. From June, as well as taking an HIV test at the GU Clinic and other sexual health services, gay and bisexual men in Sheffield will be able to order a free HIV testing kit from this website or pick a kit up from the Shout Centre. The kits involve taking a saliva sample and posting this to the hospital who will then contact you with the result. Gay men continue to be the group in the UK who are most at risk of acquiring HIV. The Health Protection Agency estimates that up to 10,000 gay men in Britain will have HIV without knowing. They also note that many gay men (1 in 5) who have HIV are still being diagnosed late - this is at the point where they should already be on treatment. Late diagnosis brings a much higher likelihood of serious illness and premature death, it can reduce treatment options and obviously has an effect on onward transmission of the virus. It really is better to know. In Sheffield, we have seen 19 new diagnoses of HIV amongst gay men in the past 6 months. The latest guidelines suggest that gay men who are sexually active should have a test for HIV annually. But there may be lots of reasons why men find it difficult to go to clinics for this, and for other sexual health tests – this could be about finding the time to make and keep an appointment or being unsure, embarrassed, anxious or reluctant to visit a clinic HIV Home Testing Kits HIV home testing is a way of having a test without having to make an appointment Gay and bisexual men in Sheffield will be able to order a free testing kit from http://www.gaysheffield.co.uk The kit will be posted out in a plain envelope and will contain a swab that you chew on for up to 5 minutes, a plastic container to put the swab in and a return envelope that you post to the clinic at the Hallamshire Hospital for testing. Although not as accurate as a blood test, the saliva samples can tell whether there are no signs of HIV infections or if further tests might be needed to say for certain that someone has the HIV virus. If no HIV is present in the sample, then the result of this will be sent to you by text or telephone. If there is a need for more tests, then a health advisor from the clinic will contact you by telephone to talk about this. The results of the test will be completely confidential and no one (including your GP) will be informed of the result without your consent. For more information, or to order a kit please visit http://www.gaysheffield.co.uk

The Department of Genito-Urinary Medicine, Shout! and the Centre for HIV & Sexual Health are launching a new sexual health screening service based at Shout! aimed at gay and bisexual men. Health visitors will be available to carry out full STI screens at Shout! on the first Thursday of every month between 5pm and 7pm. The service is 100% confidential and will provide a useful alternative to attending clinics. The service will be run as a drop in service so no appointment necessary. Shout! workers will also be available to have a chat with either before or after the screens. Thursday 6 August will be the launch date and the pilot will run for 6 months. For further information please contact Shout! on 0114 253 6767 or email support@shoutinsheffield.co.uk

We will be running a focus group in July around LGB people's health needs and how to improve health and social care services in Sheffield as part of the Pacesetters project. The outcome of the project is to develop a robust training tool, which can then be used with health professionals so we would greatly appreciate any feedback or suggestions on how effective the training toll is. We will be offering £20 payment to anyone participating, and with places being limited we may have to offer places by selection. The focus group will take place on Tuesday 21 July between 6.30 - 9.30pm. If you are interested please contact by phone 0114 253 67 67 or e-mail support@shoutinsheffield.co.uk

The process involved in the Time 2 Test scheme is for home testing kits to be distributed through a range of places and services, including Shout! and via post. The kits contain a saliva swab test to do at home which are sent to a lab and results are passed to the GU Med service. Their Health Advisors will contact the person by the preferred method and notify them of the result. If a test is positive the Health Advisor will simply book an appointment at the GU Med clinic where the test result will be given to the person and further tests taken to confirm the diagnosis. They will also make all necessary arrangements including giving information about living with HIV, support and signposting. There are a number of support services available in the city which the person will be referred to in order to make sure that the person isn't just left to cope with a difficult period by themselves. Hope this helps. The session on the 9th at Shout! is open to anyone, the more the merrier!

Time 2 Test is a new pilot scheme offering free HIV test kits for gay and bisexual men that can be taken in the comfort of your own home. The completed tests are then sent in the post for analysis. Shout! celebrates the launch of the scheme on Tuesday 9 June 7-9pm with an evening dedicated to tests. There'll be a chance to have a look at the test kits and find out more about the scheme as well as an opportunity to test your wits on the Nintendo Wii. Prizes, freebies and refreshments on offer. RSVP to 0114 253 6767 or support@shoutinsheffield.co.uk

Indigo is organising a social evening at Affinity on Campo Lane in Sheffield City Centre on Wednesday 13 May 6.30pm - 9.30pm. The evening is open to all lesbian, gay or bisexual people from a black or minority ethnic background. Come along and meet others in a relaxed atmosphere. All genders, sexualities and ethnicities are welcome For further information please phone 07974 199230 or e-mail indigo@chiv.nhs.uk

Free information session around hate crime against Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual people, Tuesday 12 May 7pm - 9pm at The Circle, 33 Rockingham Lane, Sheffield Speakers from the Crown Prosecution Service and South Yorkshire Police The session will provide an opportunity to find out how hate crime is reported, identified and investigated, discuss case studies and feed back issues directly to those who can make a difference to help improve the service for the local community To register please e-mail support@shoutinsheffield.co.uk or text 'Hate Crime' to 07974 971577

Can you champion the issues that affect the following? Black or Minority Ethnic Communities Carers People affected by mental health issues Learning disabilities North and East Sheffield 18-50 age group Sheffield LINk is urgently looking to find people to join its Governing Board. You will be involved in developing the direction of the LINk, deciding priorities and helping to ensure that the views of local people are heard around the areas of health and social care services, particularly in terms of the impact on the communities outlines above If you’re interested in having a preliminary, no obligation chat, please call the Sheffield LINk support team on 0114 253 6690 or email info@shefffieldlink.org.uk. Please contact us ASAP if you are interested in getting involved

The newly formed Sheffield LINk (Local Involvement Network) needs a logo to reflect its aim to give everyone in Sheffield the chance to influence health and social care services so that they meet the needs of the people who use them. We are wanting you to have a go at designing it so that it reflects people's ideas about Sheffield LINk. There are a number of prizes, including first prize of £150 donated to the organisation of your choice and a framed certificate, 2 runner up prizes of £25 donated to the organisation of your choice and a framed certificate, and a further 12 highly commended certificates. Anyone who lives in Sheffield or who uses Sheffield health and/or social care services can enter - you don't need to be a professional graphic designer, we are just looking for people to be creative. Closing date for entries: Friday 23 January 2009. For an entry form contact Sheffield LINk on 0114 - 253 6690 or info@sheffieldlinks.org.uk

Are you passionate about people having a stronger voice in health and social care? Would you like to play a key role in improving health and social care services for everyone in the city? If yes then you are the type of person we are looking for to be on the Governing Board of Sheffield LINk (Local Involvement Network) The Sheffield LINk is part of a wider initiative to give people a stronger voice and influence in how health and social care services are planned and delivered, by asking people what they think of local services, suggest ideas directly to the people who plan and run services, investigate specific issues of concern to the community and notify the appropriate services, visit services and clinics to see if they are performing well. The Sheffield LINk is run by local people for local people. Overseeing the LINk will be a Governing Board consisting of 12-15 individuals or representatives of organisations. We are looking for people to be on the Governing Board who - Have an understanding of the health and social care issues in Sheffield - Have good interpersonal skills and can work well as part of a team to make decisions - Can commit to attend 2-3 meetings a month If you are interested in this exciting opportunity and would like an application pack or if you want further information about Sheffield LINk please contact the LINk support team Sheffield LINk, The Circle, 33 Rockingham Lane, S1 4FW Tel: 0114 2536690 Fax: 0114 2536601 Email: info@sheffieldlinks.org.uk Closing date for applications: 10th October 2008