Bermuda's oldest AIDS support group has been forced to vacate its central office.

Supportive Therapy for AIDS Victims and their Relatives (STAR) executive director Mrs. Carolyn Armstrong told The Royal Gazette the property, which the group occupied on Angle Street, was sold.

Unable to find another central location, STAR has moved its offices to The Lighthouse, its residential home in Smith's Parish for those infected with the AIDS virus.

Mrs. Armstrong said the group hoped to find another central office next year.

She stressed that the move has not deterred STAR's goals.

"We're getting new clients every two weeks through referrals,'' she said.

"And we are picking up more invitations for presentations, particularly in the church.'' Noting that the group was scheduled to speak at Beulah Tabernacle in Sandys Parish tonight, Mrs. Armstrong said: "We're looking forward to going there and sharing with them.

"We talk about the church as not just a place to worship God, but a place also to go out and do. I enjoy going to the churches.'' Mrs. Armstrong also said STAR was grooming some of its clients to get out and share their stories with others.

"I find people are responding better to first-hand human experiences,'' she said, adding that Lighthouse residents were eager to speak particularly to young people.

"We've had some young groups down this summer who interacted with the clients,'' Mrs. Armstrong recalled. "And youth leaders have been thrilled by the experience. They are sharing the message.'' STAR was also making great progress with the Health Department and other community service groups.

Mrs. Armstrong said: "I find that we are networking so much more now. We're more effective in the life of the clients. We're helping them to come to grips with their problems.'' She said STAR was looking for the HIV-infected community to become more sensitive to each other.

Noting that it was difficult to organise rap sessions as a group because of the stigma still attached to AIDS, Mrs. Armstrong said: "We're pretty limited when it comes to sharing. But I think that is going to be so vital with persons with AIDS. There's strength in numbers.

"There are a lot of people suffering alone and there are some still in denial who have isolated themselves.'' Sharing their experiences, Mrs. Armstrong said, can help persons with AIDS financially and emotionally.

She added that STAR hoped to set up a 24-hour telephone ministry next year.

"I know that the Allan Vincent hotline has been very vital,'' she said. "But there are still some folk who need to talk to someone after 11 p.m. to listen to them, to pray with them, someone who they can trust.

"It is important for people to know that someone cares about them without alternative motives.'' Mrs. Armstrong said STAR could always use volunteers willing to "open their hearts and their homes and offer their shoulder''.

"We find that people who have come down to The Lighthouse to share some time have become a part of the family. Some even bring home-cooked meals. We just hang out in the kitchen and chat. We're going about a regular routine, just rubbing shoulders.''