Wandsworth Oasis

Wandsworth Oasis was founded in June 1989, during a period when AIDS was killing large numbers of people, including many gay and bisexual men, but also women, trans people and others whose experiences were often overlooked. Effective treatments were not yet available, and public attitudes were frequently hostile, shaped by fear, stigma and moral judgement. Sensationalist media coverage fuelled panic, while many politicians were widely seen as slow to respond or unwilling to act at all, leaving communities to face the crisis largely on their own. People cared for sick friends and partners while dealing with repeated loss, social isolation and, in some cases, rejection from families, employers and landlords.

Oasis began as a volunteer-led drop-in service offering companionship, advice and practical help to people living with HIV and to those supporting them. Early meetings and support work took place in borrowed community spaces, including at the local Salvation Army corps, showing how urgently care had to be created, often using whatever rooms and resources could be found.

As medical treatments improved in the 1990s and the immediate emergency shifted, Oasis adapted. Charity shops like this one became central to its work, transforming everyday donations and purchases into sustained funding for HIV services and community organisations. Over time, the charity developed a grants programme supporting groups working in health, wellbeing, outreach and education.

From its roots in Wandsworth, Oasis’s reach now extends beyond the borough, with shops in parts of Lambeth and Islington and funding distributed to organisations across London. What began as a local response to crisis became part of a wider network of community-led care.

Placing Wandsworth Oasis here reminds us that queer history is not only shaped by nightlife, protest or cultural scenes, but by long periods of grief, solidarity and mutual support. This shop stands as a quiet marker of a generation profoundly affected by AIDS — and of the people who refused to let care depend on government action alone.