Re:Assure Women’s Programme
Re:Assure Women’s Project is a specialists programme that is targeted to, and tailored for, HIV positive women who are in crisis and have experienced, or are living in, environments of domestic violence, are survivors of abuse and severe trauma, e.g. rape and forced marriage and those who are refugees or asylum seekers. All of whom are considered at higher risk of poor mental health, lower ART adherence, lower rates of accessing services, severe isolation and are at increased susceptibility to future and continued abuse.
Primary activities include: one-to-one psychological therapy, peer support, group support, and workshops. Through these activities, Re:Assure is able to build women’s independence, self-esteem and confidence to live well with HIV free from violence and abuse. The project provides opportunities to: develop the tools required to overcome past trauma and abuse and addresses fear, stigma and shame; increase understanding of HIV and the practicalities of sexual relationships and their rights under law; increase knowledge regarding domestic violence, the different forms it can take and how it can make someone feel; develop feelings of empowerment to leave abusive relationships and confidence to manage future relationships.
Over a year, 150 women will participate in, and benefit from Re:Assure.
Positive East
We are London’s leading community-based HIV charity, providing better futures for people living with HIV or affected by HIV. We do instant HIV tests in more places than anyone else.
We have a wide range of practical and complementary services for people living with HIV. These include individual counselling and advice sessions, support groups, help getting your correct benefit entitlements as well as courses, information and various free services. Working in partnership with other HIV charities and health care professionals in London, we will always signpost you to who can help you the best.
About Us
Positive East has been on the forefront of HIV service and care for over 25 years; supporting people from point of HIV diagnosis to longer term care. Guided by our mission – to improve the quality of life of individuals and communities affected by HIV – we have developed a holistic range of health and wellbeing programmes from counselling to workshops to HIV testing and prevention.
All activities aim to increase wellbeing, self-esteem, community integration, confidence, medical adherence and optimism and make a direct and tangible impact in the lives of people living with HIV. In total, we provide direct support to 4,000 people through service provision and HIV testing every year.
Living well with HIV
For most people who are diagnosed before the virus has done too much damage to your immune system (and if you think you might have been exposed to HIV but aren’t sure, come and get a free test) your life expectancy will probably not be any less than it would have been anyway. Providing you take your medication when you should (Doctors refer to this as ‘adherence’) you should be able to live well with HIV for the rest of your life.
This in itself presents lots of challenges, not least accepting a new reality and getting others to accept it too.
Over 10,000 people in London don’t know they are HIV positive. Get a free HIV test HERE