One to One Services

Small Grants support

Sometimes living with HIV can also mean living in poverty; whether that's because of low wages, living on benefits or asylum seeker support, or even having to exist on no income at all. To help ease the effects of living on a low income, and being unable to afford essential household items, such as fridges, cookers or washing machines, school uniforms or computers for children and, in extreme cases, food for mothers and babies and basic living expenses, we've developed a project that supports our members in making applications to grant making charities and foundations. Led by peer-volunteers and student social workers, this project has raised over £20,000 this past year in grants averaging out at £200 each.

If you're living on a low income and need some help, please contact our office to discuss your needs.

Casework

Coping with HIV, trying to deal with officials, finding out where you can get the right advice in your borough. Sometimes even the most simple sounding issues can turn into a bit of a nightmare. Our casework and advocacy team are here to try to help you find the right information and advice on housing, benefits, health, discrimination and social issues. Please contact our office to discuss this further.

No Recourse project

Living with HIV brings with it particular issues and hardships for all of us. For those with no recourse to any public funds; no benefits, no social services or no right to work, this can mean literally struggling to survive in absolute poverty. In response we've set up the No Recourse project. Through 2013 we'll be researching the basics for this client group: where to get free food, housing, legal advice and health services. We'll then be creating a series of key referral guides to share with other HIV organisations working with the most disadvantaged and excluded people with HIV.

Contact Fiona for more information.
Big thanks to MAC AIDS Fund for having the vision to support this project.

Older people's health & social work service

Ageing with HIV can mean a whole set of changing needs - around welfare benefits and pensions, moving and/or supported housing, and struggling to cope on a limited budget. In addition there are particular health issues, some common to all older people, and some more HIV specific. In response we've set up an integrated health and social care support service to help ease the burden for older people: providing a one-to-one social welfare support service alongside health seminars led by some of London's top experts on Ageing & HIV:

Thursday 30th May - Dr Mike Youle (Royal Free Hospital)
Friday 21st June - Robert Fieldhouse (Baseline magazine)
Thursday 25th July - Dr Marta Boffito & Zoe Shepherd (Chelsea & Westminster Hospital): Ageing with HIV - what we know and what we see
Contact Clive for more information.

One to One services are provided by volunteers, student social workers from University of West London, and our staff team. If you would like to find out more about our One to One Services, please contact us on 020 7243 6147.