PLHIV (People living with HIV) and others have long argued that it does not make sense to spend money on services which limit people’s choices and their opportunities to live ordinary lives.
Person-centred support – to support people to make choices and to be included – goes under many different names, including ‘independent living’, ‘person-centred services and ‘self-directed support’. They are all based on the same principle: if PLHIV are to participate and contribute as equal citizens they must have choice and control over the support they need to go about their daily lives.
This is a matter of social justice. It is an issue therefore which is fundamental to the kind of society we are, and the kind of society we want to be.
Moreover, it is essential that the people who depend on services are at the heart of decisions about the design and delivery of those services.
VPWAS starts from this position, by asking program and service users themselves what person-centred support is, what gets in the way of providing it and what helps. We also fully recognize the role of family carers and the important relationship between service users and those managing and providing services.
PLHIV have long been arguing for, and designing, person-centred services. Change will only happen if programs and services are shaped by the people who rely on them.
So, an idea which came from PLHIV themselves will only be realized if individuals are empowered to play their full part, not only in determining our own lives but also in the transformation of programs and services.