Think2Speak CEO named District Champion of The Year

Chairman of the council, Coun Angela Lawrence, said: “These awards have been devised to find a way to honour the outstanding members of our district’s communities. “Councillors have shaped and created this awards ceremony to give recognition to the numerous people who give up much of their free time to make West Lindsey a better place. They are the lifeblood of our communities.”

The District Champion of the Year Award was presented to Lizzie Jordan, 36, from Gainsborough. Presenting the award, Coun David Cotton said: “For more than ten years Lizzie has gone into schools and shared her story of living with HIV with children and young people to educate them about healthy relationships and keeping themselves well and safe. “She has also been an ambassador for national HIV campaigns for the Terrence Higgins Trust, NAM and Saving Lives and is one of three patient voices on the NHS England HIV clinical reference group.

“She volunteers her time as a peer mentor to other people living in the county and further afield who are also living with HIV, and writes on an award-winning blog about living with HIV. She also featured in the BBC One documentary The Truth About HIV which showed her delivering a HIV workshop to William Farr School, and has met with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at an event on World AIDS Day to talk to them about the HIV sessions she does in schools.”

Lizzie said: “I felt really honoured and very shocked. This is a huge privilege. I am really proud of where I come from and to talk about my situation is a major honour to help people understand what happens when people live with HIV as not many people talk about it. “It’s also important to break down perceptions that it is not about people who take drugs. People want to hear what it is like for someone living with HIV and speak to young people is important. “They could hear from a nurse practitioner or a teacher, but it’s more personal to hear from someone who has HIV and they are more inclined to ask questions.”

Read more at: https://www.gainsboroughstandard.co.uk/news/awards-ceremony-recognised-the-lifeblood-within-the-community-1-9133152