Keep HIV in Focus - Crusaid-THT

posted: 16/06/2010

The chief executive of National AIDS Trust urges a continued focus on HIV welfare, following Crusaid's merger with Terrence Higgins Trust, which was announced on Monday.
Deborah Jack expressed her sadness at seeing Crusaid come to an end after 20 years and voiced her worries for the future, in an interview with the PinkPaper.
 

“My main concern is that we’ve lost a charity solely focused with HIV into an organisation which covers all aspects of sexual health. Crusaid always supported those in the greatest need.

The important thing now is making sure … people [living with HIV] are still given the focus they require. Tensions may arise …. as Crusaid staff are used to working on more specific issues around HIV. I am, however, pleased THT have made a public commitment to continue the hardship fund which provides a valuable lifeline for … people living in poverty with HIV."
 

AIDS Support Grant risks
The merger comes just after Communities Secretary Eric Pickles’ announced that the AIDS Support Grant (ASG) will no longer be ring-fenced. This means that this £25.5 million grant (almost £2 million is for NW England) does not have to be spent on social care for people living with HIV. Deborah Jack believes it is important to hold local authorities to account for how they spend this money, otherwise there could be major repercussions, highlighted in a recent report that NAT produced with Crusaid into the need for the Crusaid HIV hardship fund.
 

“In the report we found that 1 in 6 people being treated for HIV applied for help from Crusaid with an average income of just £42 per week. One of the main problems is that many charities rely on contracts from central or local government and without the [AIDS Support Grant] money it might put lots of the smaller charities supporting people on the ground into financial difficulties. A lot of charities use the money they get from the AIDS Support Grant to provide counselling and peer support for people living with HIV. If this money isn’t being spent [on HIV anymore] then these services will be cut and then people in the greatest need will not have the same emotional support, which may lead to … [people living with HIV] becoming isolated and depressed.”
 

Source PinkPaper

Thanks for Pride Generosity

posted: 25/11/2009

George House Trust are extremely grateful to Manchester Pride who have given £33,750 to support our work for people living with HIV. All of this has gone straight into the Welfare Fund.

It was the generosity of everyone who bought tickets for the weekend, put money in tins and buckets, and supported Manchester Pride in dozens of other ways, that made possible this donation to help people living with HIV. Thank you.

This donation to George House Trust is one quarter of the fantastic £135,000 total raised for charity at Manchester Pride 2009.

£135,000 is the largest amount ever raised in the festival’s 19 year history. The money is used to support various lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) groups and projects across Greater Manchester through the Manchester Pride Community Fund and the Manchester Pride HIV / AIDS Fund. It funds the Lesbian & Gay Foundation’s ‘Free Condom and Lube’ scheme, as well as the George House Trust HIV Welfare Fund.

Welfare Fund

The George House Trust Welfare Fund supports people living with HIV pay for the very basics of day to day living, for example food and electricity. We also help with fuel bills and pay for essential items like cookers, washers and fridges.

In 2008/09 we supported almost 700 people from this fund.

Manchester Pride helps us maintain this important Welfare Fund service - it is highly appreciated as a life-saver through reducing real hardship for people living with HIV across North West England. Every penny is given out to people with HIV - there is no deduction from it for our administrative expenses.

You too, generous donors

Manchester Pride’s continued support is welcomed and we are so grateful to everyone who helped in any way by buying a ticket, or making a donation in the tins or buckets.

You can view our photosets from Pride 09 at Flickr

You can give Manchester Pride feedback on this years event and help shape Manchester Pride for 2010. They offer a pair of tickets in a draw for those who take part.

Manchester Advice at Royal Infirmary

posted: 18/11/2009

Manchester Advice has a rights adviser who can help with problems such as benefits, housing, debt and consumer issues at the Hathersage Centre. The Hathersage Centre is the new HIV/STI clinic for Manchester Royal Infirmary.

Appointments
To see the adviser Chris, please make an appointment to see her -  call the Hathersage Centre on 276 5221 (leave a message)
 

OR

Text Chris Clarke the advice worker on 0782 7878 375

OR

call her direct at Manchester Advice - Chris Clarke - her direct line is 0161 234 3305.

Hathersage Centre is the HIV and sexual health clinic at Manchester Royal Infirmary

280 Upper Brook Street, Manchester, M13 0FH
0161 901 1555

The building is at the junction of Upper Brook Street and Hathersage Road
 

Benefit Reform Backlash

posted: 01/12/2008

Gordon Brown is facing a growing backlash against Labour's welfare reforms, which will give private companies a greater role in moving the unemployed back to work, as some of Britain's biggest unions join anti-poverty campaigners in a new national campaign against the plans.
 

As the prime minister pledged over the weekend to respond to the economic downturn by speeding up the reform of public services, the new campaign warned that a "draconian" welfare policy was not the right one in a recession.

HIV impacts
The reforms will be one of the key elements of the government's legislative programme to be outlined in Wednesday's Queen's speech to parliament. The main reform to affect people living with HIV is the review and transfer of all existing claimants on Incapacity Benefit (paid for long term illhealth or disability) to the new benefit Employment Support Allowance. The tests for receiving this for long term sickness are significantly tougher. The government's intention is to reduce the number claiming for long term sickness or disability by about 1 million. These one million will either have to find work (very difficult as unemployment rises in a recession) or claim Job Seekers Allowance - about £20 a week less. People on this have under £9 a day income. Another element of the reforms is to part-privatise job seeker support services. The fear is that the "harder cases" such as people with long term unpredictable health conditions and those with stigmatised conditions will be left behind. The contracts for job seeker support services pay by results and there are tough penalties for failure. In the recesssion the companies will be driven by the contract penalties to cherrypick the easiest cases.

Campaigners against the welfare reforms, led by the centre-left pressure Compass and unions including Unison and the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), said: "Many of the plans were unacceptable when they were first published and the worsening economic situation should lead to a fundamental rethink."

Brown said yesterday that the details in the Queen's speech were the "biggest New Labour project of all" and rejected claims that the government's plans to raise the higher rate of tax to 45p marked the end of New Labour. "Doing nothing is not an option," Brown told the Progress conference in London. "This is the biggest New Labour project of all: to give people confidence and hope that we can build through this downturn into a better economy and society. It will mean not a slowing down of reform but only a stepping up in the pace of reform."

The welfare reform plans, based on a report by the city financier David Freud, have been in the pipeline for some time. Government sources said the changes in approach to the long-term unemployed were more necessary than ever.

But the new campaign group is alarmed about a drift to the right in attitudes to the jobless and has seized on warnings by the government's own advisers, the social security advisory committee, to suspend plans to force single mothers with children under 12 to seek work or face benefit cuts.

source