A support centre for those who are living with, or affected by HIV, is to be updated, thanks to a grant of £4,500 from Talbot Village Trust.

Body Positive Dorset purchased its support centre in Bournemouth town centre in autumn 2019 and the required maintenance work was delayed due to the various lockdowns.

Samantha Dawson, manager, said: “Our immediate priority was to repair and refresh the centre’s interior to resume our drop-in services as soon as possible. The centre functions as a safe place for service users to safely meet, socialise and escape from the challenges and stresses that they are facing.”

Using the Trust’s grant, a new layout has been created for the centre with relaxation areas, a media and social centre, which gives access to computers and complimentary Wi-Fi, and a private office space for confidential support sessions.

Samantha said: “We are currently working on our garden area and hope this to be finished in time for summer. We wish for the space to be a fresh, useable area that is welcoming and can be used safely by our service users.”

Sir Christopher Lees, chairman of Talbot Village Trust, said: “We’re delighted that our funding has contributed to enhancing Body Positive Dorset’s service offering and allowed the team to purchase tools to deliver more accessible support sessions in the new-look centre.

“It is tremendous that so much work has been able to go ahead at the centre in such a short space of time and we hope the grant will be able to provide a future-proof centre for the community to benefit from for many years to come.”

Talbot Village Trust is a grant giving charity that provides support to charities based in Bournemouth, Poole and the surrounding areas. The Trust meets biannually and is accepting applications for funding from both previous and new applicants in the area before the trustees meet in autumn 2021.