Sahir is marking the end of a momentous chapter as our CEO Ant Hopkinson prepares to step down after four years of leadership, growth, and transformation.
This moment comes as Sahir moves into its 41st year and reflects on a long history of standing alongside communities affected by HIV and championing LGBTQ+ health and rights.
Ant joined Sahir in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, at a time when our charity was facing an uncertain future. Financial pressures, shifting demand, and the wider impact of COVID meant the road ahead was far from clear. Working closely with the communities we serve, colleagues, volunteers, partners, and allies, we stabilised the charity and built strong foundations for what came next. Today, Sahir is stable, ambitious, and ready for its next chapter.
Over the past four years, Sahir has strengthened its financial footing, expanded its reach, and deepened its influence locally and nationally as a trusted voice for people living with HIV and our LGBTQ+ communities. More people than ever before are now accessing our services and support.
During Ant’s tenure, Sahir rebranded and realigned its vision to be more community centred, more responsive, and more ambitious, strengthening our identity, clarifying our priorities, and positioning us for long term impact and growth.
New services have been developed to meet emerging and often unmet needs. These include Sahir’s dedicated support service for LGBTQ+ refugees and people seeking asylum, an intensive support service for people living with HIV who have complex needs, and a new trans support service that will launch soon.
Sahir has also created a range of new groups and initiatives that bring people together and strengthen belonging and voice within the community. These include Prism, a group for LGBTQ+ people who are neurodivergent, something close to Ant’s own lived experience as someone who is proudly autistic, alongside our responsive Let’s Talk About gatherings and thematic Queer Town Hall programme, which have created spaces for open dialogue, connection, and stronger community voice.
Research and collaboration have become central to our work over these last four years. Sahir has partnered with Liverpool City Council Public Health to deliver a significant health and wellbeing needs assessment of LGBTQ+ residents in Liverpool, helping to shape future provision and advocacy. We have also spearheaded several research collaborations with Liverpool John Moores University and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine to strengthen understanding and improve outcomes for our communities.
Support for people living with HIV has remained at the heart of Sahir’s work, with renewed focus on those who are most underserved and facing complex challenges. This has included strengthening holistic support, building partnerships with brilliant like minded organisations such as CGL, who now support our Wirral HIV and STI testing, prevention, and support service, and ensuring that the voices of people living with HIV continue to shape services and priorities.
Ant has played a key role in bringing our communities and partners together. Safeguarding the future of Liverpool’s Pride at a critical moment stands as one of the clearest examples of this. We are proud to have helped ensure the city retained a visible, community rooted Pride that celebrates and advocates for LGBTQ+ people. This reflects Sahir’s growing civic leadership and our commitment to protecting inclusive spaces across the city region.
Alongside service and programme development, Ant worked closely with trustees to recruit and establish a new board that has now been in place for a year. Our board is well positioned to confidently guide Sahir into its next chapter.
Ant’s leadership forms an important chapter in Sahir’s long history of standing alongside communities affected by HIV and championing LGBTQ+ health, rights, and wellbeing.
Gerard, Chair of Trustees, said:
“Ant leaves Sahir with a legacy of stability, growth, and renewed confidence. His leadership has helped strengthen our services, deepen our partnerships, and reposition Sahir as an ambitious, truly community centred organisation. As we thank Ant for his significant contribution, we also look ahead with optimism. With strong foundations in place, Sahir is well positioned for the future and ready to continue evolving to meet the needs of the communities we serve.”
Ant Hopkinson said:
“The greatest privilege of my time at Sahir has been working alongside such extraordinary staff, volunteers, community members, and partners. Their compassion, commitment, and determination are what make Sahir what it is. Together we have supported people living with HIV, stood alongside our LGBTQ+ communities, and created spaces where people feel seen, valued, and supported. I care deeply about these causes and about the people at the heart of them, and I will always be proud of what we have achieved together.”
Ant will be moving on to a new role in April that brings him closer to his family in Manchester. He will continue his passion for holistic support built around people and their communities within a charity focused on supporting people who have experienced homelessness.
Sahir’s services will continue as normal throughout this transition. Our staff, volunteers and trustees will work closely together to ensure continuity, stability, and confidence throughout this period.
Sahir will begin the process of recruiting an interim CEO, followed in time by a permanent appointment. We will take the time needed to find a leader who can build on the strong foundations that have been laid and carry the mission forward.
Looking ahead, Sahir remains firmly committed to partnership, community, collaboration, and entrepreneurial energy as it continues to evolve and respond to the needs of the people it serves. We remain ambitious for what comes next.
If you have any messages, thoughts, or questions in relation to this news, please contact us at info@sahir.org.uk.