Focus on Peer Support & Pastoral Care
Focus on Peer Support & Pastoral Care
Sharing Food
Eating well & good nutrition is really important for PLWH. Before the current ‘cost of living crisis’ we have always understood the value of a good meal and a warm place to be for many of our members. A free meal is a part of any of our meetings. This is also central to our Christian faith. As a real act of welcome sharing food builds the body and the sense of community.
Thanks especially to our volunteer cook(s) who feed us with such nutritious and healthy food (You know who you are!).
‘Eyes Down’
Social support doesn’t mean always talking seriously about HIV. Sometimes it’s important just to relax together with a game of Bingo.
Christmas Dinner
The South West London Fellowship CAPS group host a dinner to celebrate Christmas each year for all our members. A banquet was served last year and before the meal members spontaneously thanked each other for all the support and kindness they had received throughout the years.
Socialising & Exercising: Picnic in the Park & Seaside Day Out
CAPS Members enjoy days out together several times each year. For example, 18 people gathered for the Picnic in the Park and 15 folk traveled by minibus to Southend-on-Sea for a seaside day out. These are wonderful occasions for relaxing, taking the air and enjoying some exercise. Men and women from every ethnic background, both heterosexual and Gay, share friendship together as one wonderfully diverse family.
Home Visits
Our pastoral support worker and volunteers will visit members at home when needed. This might be to attend to someone who is ill and needs a visit. Some need help moving into a new home. For others help with budgeting or doing a shop carefully may be what’s needed.
Help with Benefits, Expert Advice & Partner Agencies
CAPS offers that little bit of extra help to claim benefits or fill out applications online. For many English is not a first language. Others do not have access to the internet. In almost every case ‘systems’ are increasingly difficult to navigate. CAPS is grateful to the more expert advice we access for our members. For example, this year the Cardinal Hume Centre supported us with a LA Homelessness Application. Sam at METRO provided expert advice re disability benefits and a person received expert therapy from the Refugee Council. In all cases the outcomes were very successful. Thank you.
Supporting PLWH Migrant Workers: And a Warning
With the need for more workers in the UK, Skilled Worker [Tier II] visas are issued for social care workers (and others) from around the world. Upon arrival the person faces all the challenges of adjusting to a new culture and country. For those living with HIV, understanding where to get medication and enroll in clinical care is one of the things that must be done. But this can be daunting. Because of a general sense of ‘Hostility’ promoted by our government, we know that PLWH often arrive with only a short supply of medicines, anxious that they might be denied entry if their medication, and therefore their HIV status was known at Border Control. Many are unsure about what they are entitled to. Some are unaware that treatment is free. CAPS worker, Abigail Chakanyuka has accompanied four immigrant worker PLWH from Africa to enroll in clinical care this year. In one case the migrant worker has reported that their new employer has retained their passport. We anticipate that there will be an increased need to offer support to meet the needs of PLWH migrant workers in this country, especially those in precarious or exploitative employment situations.