Don’t Put Up With HIV Hate

posted: 27/10/2010

HIV hate and abuse are a problem for some people with HIV – but almost no-one complains. Now national charity Citizens Advice are urging people to go to their local bureau and report hate incidents, and hate crimes, whether people saw these or were the target themselves.

A hate incident is when someone is targeted because of their disability, gender identity, race, religion or sexual orientation. Hate incidents include verbal or physical attacks and can happen to anyone. Where the incident is a crime it is known as a hate crime.

HIV hate and abuse - our pages on HIV prejudice and stigma

People can also contact HIV community and other organisations for information, support and advice.

Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice said:

“We all have the right to live free from violence, harassment or hostility, but over the years, we have seen cases how devastating hate incidents and discrimination can be on individuals, families and the wider community. Hate incidents target people because of who they are.
“We want people to feel able to come in and tell us about any form of discrimination whether experiencing or witnessing hate incidents, and no matter how minor they might seem. Hate incidents are a form of discrimination.”
 

YouTube: Tackle Hate Crime
Advice Week 2010 put the spotlight on discrimination and Citizens Advice Bureaux are raising awareness about hate incidents and how to tackle them. Advice podcasts and a film show possible ways of coping with hate incidents. The tackling hate film clip is here on YouTube. The advice podcast is here 

2 in 3 want help after discrimination
Discrimination is the problem people are least likely to seek help with, says the Working Together for Advice Coalition (Advice Services Alliance, Advice-UK, Age UK, Citizens Advice, Law Centres Federation and Youth Access).
 

One in three people experiencing discrimination do nothing about it. Of these, two thirds say they wanted to act, but felt unable to. The YouTube film highlights people’s new anti-discrimination rights and information about where to seek free support and advice. It shows people who have suffered discrimination and how advice has helped them take action and turn a bad situation round. The film clip is here on YouTube

Four times more hate
People with disabilities (such as HIV) are four times more likely to experience a hate crime than people without disabilities, reports the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
One example
A man with learning disabilities was bullied using online social networks. The person’s private details were published with mobile phone videos. Hundreds of people joined as members to mock and harass him. The local Citizens Advice Bureau worked with the police, the social network site and others to find those responsible, remove the site, support the person and take action against those responsible.
 

England and Wales Citizens Advice Chief Executive Gillian Guy, said:
“Citizens Advice Bureaux in England and Wales helped with over 28,000 discrimination enquiries last year yet far too many people still aren’t aware of their rights or how to challenge it. Discrimination is a distressing experience, which can leave people feeling isolated and helpless. But Citizens Advice bureaux and other agencies can explain the law and help you take action if you want to. Don’t put up with it. Get advice.”

Source
 

Back to Work - Try Temping

posted: 19/05/2010

While many people living with HIV are working, many other people feel trapped on the benefits for unemployment, sickness and disability. But temporary part-time and full-time work offers people who do feel trapped on benefits the chance to try working once again.

Going back to work after a long time away worries some, but there are new opportunities to try temporary work in every part of NW England. Temping, working for a short, fixed period of time, is a path back to work that can be without obligation.
 

Back to Work Help
Anyone living with HIV in NW England who is interested in returning to work, education or training, should contact our Services Team for help, information about your employment and other rights, and advice.
 

It is worth knowing that there are ways for some people to try some work for a while and if things don’t work out as you hoped, you can return to your old rate of benefit. You need to see a benefits expert. You might impress them by asking them to tell you all about ‘therapeutic working’ – which is the benefits jargon for trying work while keeping the right to return to previous benefits.

Other back-to-work help is also available.
 

Census 2011
The Census provides a lot of temporary / casual / PT work opportunities. It's an opportunity for people to try working, wherever you live. Find out more at the new census jobs website 

How to apply and what jobs are / will be available 

What working on the 2011 census offers
The 2011 Census will offer a wide range of opportunities throughout England & Wales. Benefits include:

• Flexible working hours that you can fit in around your current commitments
• The opportunity for a short term income boost
• Opportunity to add new experience to your CV
• Competitive salaries
• The chance to work within your local community
• The opportunity to meet a wide range of people from various backgrounds
• Job satisfaction that can be gained from helping others
• The health benefits that will be gained from working outside
• The chance to play a part in gathering the information needed to make good decisions on things that affect local communities.

Contact our Services Team about going back to work.

Well Enough to Work?

posted: 23/03/2010

People with HIV are among those getting a raw deal in assessments carried out for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). A report launched today by national charity Citizens Advice, and supported by eighteen other organisations including National Aids Trust, highlights grave concerns about how sick and disabled people are being assessed for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).
 

ESA was introduced in October 2008 and it replaces incapacity benefit for new claimants. It aims to give more help to those who might, with support, be able to work. Everyone already on Incapacity Benefit will soon begin to be transferred to Employment and Support Allowance, using the assessment methods criticised in this report.
 

 2 out of 3 sick and disabled people told - ‘fit for work’
Since ESA was introduced, advisers across the country have been reporting high numbers of seriously ill and disabled people being found ‘fit for work’ under the new Work Capability Assessment (WCA). Two out of three people having this assessment are found ‘fit for work’.

Examples of people in this situation include people with late stage HIV, Parkinson’s Disease and Multiple Sclerosis, people with severe mental illness, and some who are dealing with acute short-term health problems, such as awaiting open heart surgery.
 

"People with serious illnesses and disabilities who could not reasonably be expected to work are being found fit for work," the report states. "Many of these people are too ill to sign on, or are not eligible for any other benefit, and so are left with reduced incomes and no help or support to find work." Sue Royston, the author of the study, said "This is a systemic problem. Advisers up and down the country are reporting that very seriously ill people are being found fit for work." 

Time for full review
Citizens Advice are calling for a full review, a rethink that would reassess who should be eligible for the benefit, and study the accuracy of the medical assessments.
 

Improvements planned
Responding to the report, the Department for Work and Pensions said the medical assessment system was being adapted and changes would soon be announced that would make it more sensitive to the needs of cancer sufferers, people with learning disabilities and autism, and those with fluctuating conditions (such as HIV).

Part of the problem is that the questions only allow yes and no answers so people can’t describe how their ill-health affects them, but must simply say yes or no to whether they can stand, or sit, or walk a certain distance. What do you say if you have some good days and some bad days, some days when you can, some days when you can't?

Mental ill-health, pain, exhaustion

The report also points out that the system pays little attention to the impact of mental ill-health on the ability to work, and warns that it does not properly recognise the effects of pain and exhaustion.
 

"Seriously ill and disabled people are being severely let down by the crude approach of the Work Capability Assessment. A much more sophisticated approach is needed, that not only looks at a person's ability to undertake a certain task on the day of the test, but considers supporting medical evidence and other aspects, such as the variability of a person's condition," David Harker, chief executive of Citizens Advice said. "We are very concerned about the 69 per cent of people assessed who are refused ESA."

Medicals are a one-size-fits-all production line
The report 'Not working - CAB evidence on the ESA Work Capability Assessment’ outlines the limited effectiveness of the assessment. Claimants undergo a medical test, which should assess what they can do, but the evidence shows that the test doesn’t deal with the complexities of many illnesses and disabilities.
 

Citizens Advice has numerous reports of hurried medicals, where medical examiners miss vital details,
make unjustifiable assumptions and don’t place enough emphasis on the impact of mental health issues on the ability to work.
 

Not working shows how failing the WCA can have an enormously detrimental effect. By being told they must find work, people face further hardship by either having to claim Job Seekers Allowance, which has strict rules and is less money, or, in many cases, no benefit at all.
 

The stress of having the assessment, and the prospect of fighting unfavourable decisions at a tribunal adds to the considerable pressure on people who are sick or disabled. The harm caused makes it even more likely vulnerable people will not be able to make a good return to working.
 

HIV and variable conditions
David Harker, Chief Executive at Citizens Advice said: “The current test to determine eligibility for ESA isn’t working. We are seeing cases where the Government’s aim of moving people into work is being totally undermined. Seriously ill and disabled people are being severely let down by the crude approach of the Work Capability Assessment. A much more sophisticated approach is needed, that not only looks at a person’s ability to undertake a certain task on the day of the test, but considers supporting medical evidence and other aspects, such as the variability of a person’s condition and the external barriers they face in finding work.
 

“We are very concerned about the 69 per cent of people assessed who are refused ESA. Some should never have been subjected to the work capability assessment, and we believe that if someone is seriously ill, more information should be gathered from their doctor before this decision is made. Undoubtedly, there are some people ready and able to go back to work at the time of their assessment, but our evidence shows that there are many more people who, by being moved off the benefit and away from any further support, are effectively being written off.” He concluded:
“Citizens Advice calls on the Government to address the problems outlined in the report, which are causing hardship to seriously ill people at a time when they most need support.”
 

HIV assessments
George House Trust, like other HIV organisations, have seen many bad examples. With Manchester Advice (who provide our expert benefits advice and represent people living with HIV at appeals) and with National AIDS Trust, and the help of people living with HIV, we are now gathering evidence about how these work capability assessments affect people with HIV. NAT plans to produce a report late this year and we will use the evidence to press for a better deal for people with HIV.
 

Citizens Advice press release
Citizens Advice report
More reporting
 

HIV Advice for Employers

posted: 10/02/2010

Advice for employers on dealing with HIV at work has been published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. It includes a case study from Standard Chartered Bank. The company starts with a basic HIV education and awareness programme which has five key themes

• what is HIV and AIDS?
• what is risky behaviour and what is safe?
• prevention
• importance of testing
• positive living.
 

They provide this HIV education for all employees in three ways

• face-to-face education
• online e-learning module
• internet animated web-learning.

The company has a HIV policy with these key features :
• Non-disclosure: HIV positive staff are not obliged to disclose their status and there is no pre-employment screening.
• Non-discrimination: the company does not tolerate any form of discrimination or segregation.
• Prevention: the company supports preventative behaviour and confidential testing, including free or nominal price access to condoms for staff.
• Care: the company provides care and treatment of any employee living with HIV and up for four members of their family.
• Education: all staff must complete the HIV e-learning programme on joining the company and repeat it every two years. They are also encouraged to attend face-to-face education sessions.
 

The HIV for employers factsheet is here.

For other employment resources use our Links page for employment,

NAT (National AIDS Trust) has excellent employment packs and advice for employers, large and small

Low Income?

posted: 15/12/2009

Over the next few days a new section of the George House Trust website will help people with low incomes. It will have sections on

• Increasing your income
• Cutting Spending
• Dealing with Debt
• and the help George House Trust offers.

Many people living with HIV have low incomes, some migrants with HIV even have no income whatsoever, and long term conditions usually add to people’s living costs. At the very least there are hospital appointments and often prescription charges to pay.
 

The Low Income pages will point you to where you can find the information you need to help yourself, and explain the support George House Trust can offer.
 

You will find Low Income  advice and information here. On the website front page it is under All About Our Services