Waltham Forest HIV and Aids Support Group was founded in 1990 by a group of positive people, under the auspices of the then Waltham Forest Health Authority HIV Coordinator and the HIV councillor. The first meetings took place in September of that year at Thorpe Coombe but it soon became clear that the group needed its own space away from clinical care.

Please remember, at this time the prognosis for people with the virus was poor, there was no useful treatment, (apart from AZT if you were lucky) and the stigma was incredible, so the meetings needed to be discrete, informative and the members supportive.

At the new venue, the group grew and the fortnightly meetings alternated between information, with invited speakers, and social with food, soon it became apparent that this was not enough and certain members opened their homes for informal dinners on the alternate week, leaving the formal meetings for information.

In the early days of the group the mortality was very high, and of the 50 or so +people who have joined over the years 15 moved away and 25 have died.

The group has also welcomed friends, partners, lovers, parents and children of positive people, irrespective of status.

Over time the group has been funded by Waltham Forest HIV Unit, Waltham Forest Health Authority and it many successors, and by public donations. The group chose not to become a registered charity, as this prevents political lobbying, and we did not want to be gagged by restrictions.

In 1996 The St Mary Road Voluntary Sector Base was opened and the meetings were transferred there, as numbers attending meetings dropped, the group went back to meeting fortnightly, combining information and chat with a buffet supper, which is how it is now.