Is a project administered by Renaissance UK.
The project aims to support and act as a voice for the HIV community across Lancashire including Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen. In order to meet this aim, the project will focus on these three aspects:
A Community Resource
As services for people living with HIV continue to be put under pressure due to increasing demand and dwindling health and social care budgets, there is a need for us as a community of people living with HIV to proactively identify, capitalise and develop our skills, attributes and strengths, to be a resource to meet the needs of our community in the future.
Lancashire voice will act a forum to collect information on what resources are available within our community, identify training needs and training provision and enable the capacity of resources identified to be maximised.
As a Community Voice
When Health and Social care services are being designed, evaluated and developed for people living with HIV, there is a need to involve people living with HIV in that process who can speak not just for themselves and their own personal experiences but who are also able to articulate the needs, expectations and experiences of all of those living with HIV within Lancashire as a whole.
Therefore members will be trained and supported to speak for the wider HIV community so that they can act as their voice in the development of services.
Utilising ABCD – Asset Based Community Development
Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) is a method of community development that looks at capitalising on the assets and strengths within a community rather than its needs and weaknesses.
With the ABCD approach, time is spent identifying what skills and resources are already present in a community and then building on those resources.
An example of this maybe in the desire for peer support. People within the community may already have the time, basic skills and desire to perform such a role. Lancashire Voice would identify such people and source training, coordination and required protocols to ensure safety for the client and volunteer.
If you are living with HIV and are interested in joining Lancashire Voice or require more information please contact
enquiries@Ren-UK.com
01253 311431
