About us
The OUR Project provides support and advocacy for people living with or affected by HIV in Bradford.
The aim of the OUR Project is to deliver services that are centred on your individual needs.
During our first contact with you there will be time and space to discuss what living with HIV means to you. You can use this time to tell us about any issues that are affecting you. The meeting gives us the opportunity to work with you to plan and prioritise how to address any areas that you would like support with. We use an assessment form so that we won’t miss anything during the meeting and to ensure that we can best meet your needs.
We can support you around HIV related issues. This can include feeling isolated, diet, medication and sexual health. We can also support you on issues that may not be directly related to your HIV status such as housing problems, other health issues and income.
We can offer different levels of support. You can access support specifically during times of crisis or you can access more regular support and advice. The sort of support you want is up to you.
The OUR Project also provides services and support to people affected by HIV, including family and friends of those who are HIV positive.
At our first meeting we will discuss what living with HIV means to you and any other issues affecting your life. We use an assessment form so there is less chance that things are missed.
Everyone who comes to us is different, so together we will then look at what services and support would be best for you. Your comfort and feelings are important to us so we try to make the time we spend together as informal as possible.
We will ask you to sign a consent form so that we can get proof of your HIV status. Your personal information will be stored securely and we will not disclose your HIV status or your use of OUR services to anyone without your consent.
Our confidentiality policy will be fully explained to you.
Everyone who comes to us is different, so together we will then look at what services and support would be best for you.
We provide advice and support around welfare and benefits including:
- Telling you about other relevant agencies.
- Obtaining letters of support for health related welfare issues.
- Challenging decisions that have been made in relation to welfare support.
People living with HIV can face discrimination and this is something that we work to combat. Your support worker will contact organisations for you or with you to make enquiries, access services, make complaints and/or seek information and advice. This may be done by telephone, email, by letter or in person at a joint meeting/visit.
At the OUR Project you will have access to a telephone, printing and photocopying, computers and the internet to help you.
If you are HIV positive and have found yourself in financial difficulties, we may be able to apply for financial grants to offer some relief in times of hardship on a limited short term basis.
We will try and work out the best way for you to access support. 1-2-1 support is based around your needs and can be very informal.
This will give you the opportunity to discuss anything you like. You can request a home visit and you can also access support by telephone.
Support groups can be a very important way of accessing advice, help and support. We have regular support group meetings for people living with and affected by HIV. These are a great opportunity to meet new
people who have similar experiences to you, get support and make new friends.
Please ask a member of staff for more information about our support groups.
We can offer free short term individual counselling for you, your partner or both of you as a couple. Counsellors are trained to listen and help you clarify what is going on for you and what steps you personally need to take to improve your situation.
All counsellors used by the OUR Project are experienced and qualified counselling professionals.
All counsellors used by the OUR Project have a good understanding of specific issues relating to living with HIV.
Support groups can be a very important way of accessing advice, help and support.
We offer bespoke training on transmission, treatment and living positively with HIV. The training that we offer is tailored to each organisation.
If you request training, we will agree with you which topics in relation to HIV will be covered. The training agreement might contain specific issues like confidentiality, basic biology and transmission, experiences of living with HIV and attitudes about people living with HIV.
We can provide training to staff teams and this can be arranged by agreeing what you would like us to cover within the training and agreeing a date. Requests for training will require some flexibility as workers within the Our Project need to be available to meet the needs of service users.
The cost of staff team training is £120 for a maximum half day training session or £200 for a full day. At this rate you will need to provide a suitable training environment. If your organisation does not have a room suitable to deliver training in or have access to a training room elsewhere, we can book rooms at suitable venues or our accessible building, depending on numbers.
It is possible for your organisation to link with other organisations in order to share the cost and increase the variety of experiences that can be shared on the day. The maximum number of participants on any of our courses is twenty.
We are sometimes able to offer free training courses to voluntary groups or as an introductory training session.
Evaluation of our previous courses has been excellent. It has highlighted that the content, approach and facilitation has enabled the outcomes of the course to be fully met by participants. The courses delivered by staff at the OUR Project are designed to be interactive.
To book training or for more information, please contact us.
If you using the services at the OUR Project, you are not limited to just accessing the group sessions, but you are also welcome to make appointments with staff , we can offer evenings and weekend appointments if you are unable to attend in office hours.
If English is not your first language we may be able to provide an interpreter. Please contact us to find out which languages we can offer this service for.
We also offer:
If English is not your first language we may be able to provide an interpreter.