Positive Steps Residential Weekends

posted: 11/10/2011

Positive Steps - the social and support group for gay men living with HIV in North Greater Manchester and Lancashire - are organising 3 residential weekends between now and the end of July 2012. The weekends are funded by the Big Lottery Fund and are free to participants.

For more information click here

Please note that these weekends are run by the Positive Steps Group.
George House Trust has no involvement in these weekends either in terms of their organisation or their content

George House Trust Podcast #1

posted: 14/07/2011

George House Trust has produced its first podcast which is now available to view online through any mobile device with an internet connection.

Click here to view our podcast
 

In this webisode Chief Executive Rosie Robinson and Vice Chair David Teasdale talk about the recent effects the current economic climate has had on GHT and explain the subsequent changes GHT has made to both the staffing structure and the services which it provides. Rosie and David also explain the process involved in making those decisions.

The podcast was produced using the existing skills of the staff team and will hopefully be a regular and effective way of communicating to our service users, volunteers and supporters.

We hope to bring you more podcasts in the future so watch this space.
 

DLA to PIP Benefit Plans

posted: 10/05/2011

The benefit called Disability Living Allowance (DLA) will be replaced from 2013 - 14 with a new benefit, Personal Independence Payment (PIP). The government has just published their detailed proposals for how this new benefit will be assessed and asks for public comments.

Disability Living Allowance some people with HIV now recieve comes in two flavours - the care component (with 3 rates of payment), and the mobility component (with 2 rates of payment). The top rate of the mobility component is converted by many people into a leased car from Motability.
 

The government intends to cut 20% from the benefits bill when they make the change from DLA to PIP, so the rules for Personal Independence Payment are tougher than the DLA rules, so PIP will go to people ‘with the greatest need’. This means some people will no longer get the benefit or will get less than now.
 

Most people get DLA after simply filling in a claim form. Everyone getting PIP will face a medical assessment as well as filling in a claim form.

Most people will want something simple to read and understand. The Disability Alliance has a useful factsheet page which is kept updated.

The official explanation and consultation documents

Comments by 6 June

The deadline for public comments on these proposals is 6 June. Leading HIV organisations will be making comments on these proposals.

Weekends in the Country

posted: 14/02/2011

The next Living Proof weekend, for people who have lived with HIV for five years or longer, will be from Friday 25 to Sunday 27 March, near Stafford, south of Manchester.
 

The nltsg – National Long-Term Survivors Group - provides support to people who have been living with HIV for 5 or more years. nltsg is open to anyone who has been diagnosed HIV positive for five years. They welcome everyone as members.
 

Weekends : some funding help
nltsg receives no funding and charges for the Living Proof weekend cover the costs - £170. Help may be available for some people - if you live in NW England ask our services team about this.

Thanks to a generous award from the Elton John AIDS Foundation, nltsg offers a limited number of places to people who have not attended a nltsg weekend before. To qualify, you must

• be either over 50, OR
• be socially isolated (living in a rural location, low HIV prevalence area or otherwise unable to use local HIV support services), OR
• be a worker (paid or volunteer) in the HIV support sector.
Please contact them for details.

Weekends
The weekends are a safe space for people to come together for peer support, sharing experiences and discussing issues. Professional facilitators hold discussion groups and workshops, but users decide what is discussed.
Complementary therapists offer a wide range of treatments throughout the weekend.
All activities are optional.

Weekend details
The weekends run from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon, with people arriving from 3:30pm on Friday. They expect everyone is ready by 5:45pm for the Opening Circle.
On Friday evening, they hold a 'Getting to Know You' session, which gives everyone the opportunity to talk in small groups about their reasons for attending, their hopes and expectations for the weekend, as well as voicing any concerns they may have.

Throughout Saturday and on Sunday morning they hold discussion groups, workshops and complementary therapy sessions.

There is plenty of free time during the weekend, which offers an opportunity to relax and network. Many find this the most beneficial aspect of the weekend, as it provides the chance to talk, listen and learn in an informal but safe environment with other people living with HIV.

The weekend is fully catered and there is a bar available in the evening. Most dietary requirements can be accommodated.

The weekends end with a Closing Circle at around 2:45pm on Sunday afternoon.

Bookings by email
 

07967 430797 by phone

by post :

National Long Term Survivors Group
BM LTSG
London WC1N 3XX

Living Proof Weekend dates

2011:

25 - 27 March
8 - 10 July
23 - 25 September
16 - 18 December

2012:

23 - 25 March
6 - 8 July
28 - 30 September
14 - 16 December
 

What people said about their Living Proof weekend experience

"Just what I needed at this time, a lovely group of people, everyone I met here was friendly and I did not feel excluded."

"The best thing was getting to make new friends and meeting old ones; meeting other positive people and coming together as a group "

"I enjoy the weekend away from home. As a long-term survivor, I enjoy passing on my experiences and learning from new and old members. It goes a long way in helping a person living with HIV, and I leave refreshed and wanting to do more."

"The best thing was discovering other people's example of how they deal with the virus: peer support - sharing experiences - able to relax completely - a chance for personal recharge."

HIV Message to Social Services - Protect Funding

posted: 09/02/2011

Deborah Jack, the chief executive of National AIDS Trust, has now written to every director of adult social services, calling on them to protect spending for people with HIV.

We very recently reported (Disadvantage Affects HIV Futures) how much of a difference support to end people's social disadvantage makes to whether people live well with HIV, or fall ill and die early.

This multinational study showed that social disadvantage - poverty, class, gender, ethnicity - make a critical difference to how long and healthily people live with HIV. People nearer the bottom of the heap – because of low income, poverty and social disadvantages - get ill much sooner, and die much younger.

That’s why spending on HIV social care matters. It makes a clear difference in life and death.

Here’s what Deborah Jack wrote and told all the Social Services directors :

Dear Director

The importance of social care for people with HIV

Our chair, Dame Denise Platt, has asked me to write to you, in your capacity as director of adult social services, to highlight the vital importance of continuing to fund social care services for people living with HIV over the next year.

As you will know, the Aids Support Grant, which funded social care for people with HIV, is now part of councils' overall formula grant. However, AIDS support remains an identifiable allocation specifically calculated to enable you to meet the needs of people with HIV in your area. I am sure you will be aware how much your council has been allocated for 2011-12, We firmly believe that spending this allocation on services that meet the specific needs of people living with HIV will deliver value for money and be a cost-effective investment in the long term.

Social care for people with HIV provides a lifeline for many vulnerable people, enabling them to retain their independence and have as normal as possible life. The government has clearly identified this as a primary aim and has acknowledged the continuing need for HIV social care and the necessity to protect these services through the continued existence of a specific and distinct amount of money with its own allocation formula.

Investing in HIV social care services has long-term benefits both in terms of the council's finances, but also for the health of your local population. Good-quality social care is an essential part of keeping people well and avoiding expensive hospital in-patient care and more complex and costly community support. The closer liaison between yourselves and the local NHS as we go forwards only goes to further increase the benefits of the continued funding of HIV social care.

A reduction in HIV social care services will also have public health implications which, with the council's forthcoming public health role, should be taken into consideration when determining funding now. Research shows that when people with HIV are suffering from depression and other forms of psychological distress they are less likely to adhere to their HIV treatment. Non-adherence not only impacts on the individual's own health but also on the health of others, as they become more infectious and therefore there is a greater risk they will pass the virus on, creating further demands for local health and social care services.

HIV social care provides a wide range of services including counselling, peer support, support for carers, respite care and support for children and young people affected by HIV. Many of these services are provided by small community-based voluntary organisations who deliver value above and beyond the direct cost of the services. As well as delivering support these organisations often provide a voice for people living with HIV at a local level, but a reduction in short-term funding for HIV social care services by the council may well threaten their future viability.

I hope that the issues I have highlighted above will serve to convince you of the importance of using the money allocated to 'HIV/AIDS support' within the formula grant to continue to fund essential social care support for people living with HIV. If you would like to discuss any of these matters further please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Yours sincerely,

Deborah Jack