Securing HIV Community’s Future

posted: 10/02/2011

The future for both people with HIV, community and council HIV services is threatened and unstable now because of the government’s responses to the economic situation. Despite the negative outlook, HIV organisations must focus on making the most of what opportunities there are.
 

A new report, Securing Our Future, makes eight action point recommendations for the HIV community sector, based on the views of people with HIV, findings from an online survey, and the views of HIV organisations.

Securing our Future was the work of three London-based HIV organisations - Naz Project London, Positive East and Positively UK (formerly Positively Women), working together as the Counterpoint Policy Alliance.

8 Community Actions

As a result of all the feedback received from the surveys, focus groups and stakeholders, the Counterpoint Policy Alliance identifies eight key action points or recommendations for the HIV charity sector:

1. Maximise the role of people living with HIV working as peers to address their needs and change perceptions about HIV
2. Ensure the sustainability especially of peer-based personal support services (one-to-one, mentoring and support groups), and mental health counselling for people living with HIV and their families
3. Facilitate a process among people living with HIV to build a shared vision of what the HIV charity sector would look like in 5 years, in 2016 
4. Increase innovative sharing and use of peer volunteers across HIV charities
5. Build a unified and strong advocacy voice across HIV charities
6. Initiate a mentoring programme where larger HIV charities are available to assist smaller ones as / if needed, e.g., to understand the changing economic and social environment, and analytical skills to accurately identify what the implications are for the organisation and how best to respond
7. Encourage more partnerships among HIV charities that share back
   office and service delivery functions
8. Explore merger options among HIV charities that avoid homogenisation, and maintain community relationships as well as the ability to target and tailor for specific needs and sub-populations.

As the report tells us “We are moving into an era of radical revamping of the NHS and how health and social care services are provided.

"It is vital that we maximise opportunities to ensure that the needs, views and experiences of people and communities affected by HIV are at the centre of public policy and development.

"In order to achieve this and take forward the above eight recommendations, there will need to be increasing levels of collaboration across the HIV charity sector.”

Securing our Future

HIV and Women Booklet

posted: 15/12/2010

HIV & Women, the booklet from NAM, has now been updated, with the help of Positively UK.

This booklet has even more essential information for women living with HIV. Like all their other booklets it is free to download.
 

HIV & Women, the booklet from NAM

Positively Women Changes

posted: 09/06/2010

Positively Women, based in London, has changed both its name and the focus of its work. As their website says "On 6 June, Positively Women entered a new and exciting chapter in its life. Following a major strategic review and process of consultation with service users and stakeholders we have extended our remit to reach both men and women living with HIV.

Positively UK retains its core ethos of peer support, with people living with HIV developing and delivering services. Our peer support services for women remain along with Positively Women magazine, and these now sit alongside services for men and young people."

About the changes

After 23 years, Positively Women has entered a new and exciting chapter of its life. In June 2010 following a major review of strategy, and consultation with service users and stakeholders they have decided to serve both men and women living with HIV.

It will retain its core ethos of peer support, with people living with HIV developing and delivering services. Peer support services for women will remain, alongside resources such as the Positively Women magazine. They will build on their strengths and provide peer support to new groups, notably men and young people. They are saying 'we are here to support people living with HIV across the UK'. That explains the change of name to Positively UK.

New Vision - A society where HIV and related health conditions are free from stigma and discrimination
New Mission - Positively UK champions the rights of people living with HIV and related health conditions

What they will do 

• Providing specialist and peer support, advocacy and information
• Campaigning against discrimination
• Promoting positive attitudes and equitable access to health
• Increasing involvement, voice and visibility

Ambition - To provide peer led support to all people living with HIV in the UK by 2020.
 

Why change the name after 23 years?
Positively Women has spent a year reviewing its strategy and future. The whole country faces a period of significant change and less public funding for services. Councils and the NHS are expected to reduce the number of contracts, and will favour general support organisations rather than specialists. Providing services specifically women, meant Positively Women would be vulnerable. It has already lost some funding because of this.
 

Gap for Peer Support

There is a lack of organisations providing peer led work - services led by people with HIV . Continuing to provide peer services to women, and extending this to men, meets a need and helps fill this gap. Changing the name reflects this.

Why Positively UK?
They have kept the word ‘Positively’ as the organisation remains committed to supporting people living with HIV. It also acknowledges and keeps a link to the past. Adding ‘UK’ makes it clear to people using services, to funders and others that the organisation is open to everyone living with HIV, across the country.
Replacing ‘Women’ in the name was a difficult decision and they realise many people will feel a sense of loss that the organisation is no longer called Positively Women. The name Positively Women  is close to many people’s hearts and is an assurance of dedicated services for women. They will keep the Positively Women brand for all their women’s services and have designed a new Positively Women logo.
This was developed with a design company Intertype who have helped before with their publications design including Positively Women magazine. Intertype came up with a series of designs for the new logo. Staff, volunteers and trustees were consulted and the new design was the most popular. People felt this was friendly and accessible. The designers did not charge and Positively UK designed and built their own new website.
 

Services for Women

Positively UK will have six strands of work. A main strand will continue to be Positively Women. Women still encounter gender and health inequalities, and women living with HIV have specific needs in their role as mothers and carers. Positively UK will continue to provide one-to-one and group peer support for women; women accessing services will still receive support from another positive woman.

Their current London support groups will remain women only and we will continue support for lesbian, bisexual and transgender women. Positively Women magazine will also remain women focused.

Positively UK will also continue to support the development of the national network of women living with HIV, PozFem-UK. They are also committed to new women’s services and over the next year are developing a project to support women through pregnancy and ante-natal care.
 

Services for Men Services for men will be developed under the accompanying strand of Positively Men.
 

Other services They already host Str8 Talk, a self-facilitating group for heterosexual men and women; and their Parenting and Caribbean groups are already open for men to attend. Additional peer support services are being developed for men and they are already recruiting and training male volunteers to be peer mentors providing one-to-one support, alongside female volunteers; in the meantime their London services are open to men.
 

Positively Youth
In early 2010 they ran a pilot project looking at the needs of young people living with HIV as they make the transition from adolescence to adulthood and paediatric to adult HIV services. They are looking for funding to implement a new programme for young people living with HIV, working in partnership with the 900 clinic at St Mary’s Hospital, in London.
 

Positively Health
Their prevention activities have focused upon the African communities as part of the Department of Health’s NAHIP programme. They aim to continue this and build on this to extending work in the community and with people living with HIV, and into HIV testing.
 

Positively Policy
The organisation remains committed to developing and supporting the involvement of people living with HIV in shaping policy, practice and services. PozFem-UK, the national network of women living with HIV, will continue to be developed and they are committed to developing a wider network to support all people living with HIV in consultations and policy responses.
 

Positively Information
Their website is their largest information tool for wider the public and people living with HIV. It's been redesigned along with the change of name.

Positively Women magazine

Positively Women magazine  continues to be the only magazine for women living with HIV written by women living with HIV. They are developing new materials to support other aspects of our work such as information for women around pregnancy and resources for young people.
 

Their new website - Positively UK

PozFem-UK website

Their questions and answers document about the changes - the information above comes from this.