KINGSTON UPON THAMES & SURROUNDING AREAS - 020 8546 1671 - 07760 616 585 (24HR) - INFO@HELMARCARE.ORG.UK
Our Journey
1999
2001
2007
2010
2011
2013
2015
Kingston Richmond Surrey African Positive Outlook (KRSAPO) is formed with an aim to provide advice, information and community support services to people affected by HIV. KRSAPO supported the community with a drop-in centre for information, advice, education and training. We also provided a support system for local carers who needed support with childcare, hospital visits, cooking and more, while they were working.
In 2001, KRASPO was proud to hold a total of 8 community workshops, both for adults and young people. These covered a range of topics from parental skills to sexual health. We also expanded our services to provide a dedicated free training centre for people in the community. We began running regular training courses covering beneficial skills such as computer training and CV writing.
We changed our name to African Positive Outlook after trustees decided to expand the catchment area to the whole of London as well as Africa. Our services had expanded to include;​
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Sexual health - specifically HIV/AIDS
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Domestic violence awareness & support
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Carer support
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Employment training
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Community outreach services
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Drop in service for advice, information & support
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Mentoring
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Crime prevention & awareness
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Support groups
This was a record year for APO in terms of community outreach. We made massive progress in supporting the community and managed to work closely with a number of organisations which supported APO to achieve its goals. Our drop in service saw huge growth, we held pop-up events in Kingston with volunteers from Kingston University to raise awareness for World AIDS Day and we hosted the 'Rumba from the Jungle' - a modern dance performance which uncovered the exciting history of African dance - funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
4 of our members during this period were recognised by Kingston Volunteer Centre for haven donated over 100 hours of service and awarded by the Mayor of Kingston upon Thames!
We also began our home care services in Kingston upon Thames and were officially registered with the Care Quality Commission.
In our first international project, we began supporting 20 children from North and Eastern Uganda. With the help of 4 initial registered members, we embarked on a project of promoting education, health and welfare. These children were all orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS.
We concluded our 2 year project 'From Zanzibar with Cloves' - a deep dive into the history between the British curry industry and the abolition of the Indian Ocean slave trade. With the help of 12 volunteer researchers - we produced a podcast, held a stall at the Kingston Food Festival (2012) with a hosted theatrical performance, held an successful exhibition at Kingston Museum. This project was funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund with special help from Kingston Museum, The British Library, RBK, The Royal Geographical Society, The Cathedral of Zanzibar & Zanzibar University.
"Time to change project" - this covered awareness raising on mental health issues, tackling of mental health stigma among the youth and reducing isolation. We carried several workshops on mental health awareness in partnership with RISE and Kingston Somali Community. We successfully completed this project and a full final report distributed to all stakeholders and partners who contributed.
