Positive Life NSW

Lance Feeney reports on the HIV partner outreach trips to Southern and South Eastern NSW in 2009.

Anyone who has driven through southern NSW and along the southern coastal strip of the state will be struck by the primeval beauty of the landscape. Rolling gold grass covered hills, dotted with windswept trees and outcrops of ancient rock, forests of eucalypts and pristine coastal estuaries. No wonder people want to live there; and a small number of the inhabitants, are also HIV positive.

I stress the adjective ‘small’, because the majority of people with HIV in NSW live in Sydney, even if they’d like to live elsewhere. Newcastle, Wollongong and Northern Rivers have significant populations, but Sydney has ‘the lion’s share’ of the 10,000 poz residents in NSW. So what’s life like for someone with HIV living in the southern rural areas of NSW and how do services work?

Improving our connections

Positive Life represents the interests of all people with HIV in NSW, including rural and regional people. We made a commitment in our last Strategic Plan to improve our connection to people in rural and regional areas and also to the services that support them. In partnership with ACON, BGF and Positive Heterosexuals; Positive Life conducted a trip to Albury in March and to Bega and Queanbeyan in June 2009. The aim was to meet and hear from local people with HIV and service providers, and to identify local issues so we could assist and advocate more effectively for rural and regional people.

A social dinner or lunch was provided in Albury, Queanbeyan and Bega. The partners and friends of poz guests were also invited to come along. On the following day, appointments with staff from BGF, Pozhets and ACON gave locals the chance to meet with visiting services, exchange information and put faces to names

The trips were a great success, providing an opportunity to socialise in a safe (and private environment) where we gained a better understanding of the support services available and assistance we could offer. Face-to-face meetings with services were also valuable. They allowed questions to be asked, confidential advice to be shared, and everyone to get a better understanding of local issues and concerns.

The rare opportunity to meet with people from these regions and talk face–to-face was highly informative. Although there were issues specific to each area, there were also common characteristics identified across the areas. Generally, services worked well, however, not surprisingly, the need to travel long distances for medical appointments was a common theme with some people driving up to 300 kilometers for the round trip. If specialist appointments are needed, travelling to Sydney or Melbourne and staying over-night in cheap accommodation becomes necessary. The additional financial burden created by these travel costs, together with the tyranny of distance and ongoing maintenance for older cars, becomes a constant challenge and source of worry for those on Centrelink benefits. Reliance on county buses and train networks makes journeys time-consuming and extremely difficult for those without a vehicle.

Confidentiality was also cited as an issue requiring constant vigilance. The anonymity experienced by city dwellers is often quite alien to those in rural and regional areas. Networks are small and where many people know one-another, gossip can proliferate quickly. Maintaining privacy and confidentiality in this environment becomes a constant challenge and some people are understandably wary of sharing their HIV status with friends and colleagues for fear of the news spreading like wild-fire and the possibility of unwanted discrimination.

Choosing to live in environments that are quiet, physically secluded and uncluttered by the day-to-day hubbub of the city, also means there are limited opportunities to develop social and support networks, friendships and sexual relationships. This paradox can become something of a double edged sword, leading to increased feelings of social isolation and frustration which impact on emotional health and physical wellbeing. Nipping into a local gay venue or service provider is not an option and poor mobile and Internet reception (in some areas) further add to the difficulty of maintaining regular contact with family and friends as well as the ability to access information and support service when needed.

The solution to the problems encountered by rural and regional people with HIV are often weighed in a complex balance of personal, social, spiritual and financial need. Fortunately, Positive Life and the other partner organisations are now in a better position to understand the complex issues for poz people in these areas and to advocate on their behalf. We will also be working to improve social support structures, networks and services.

These trips will not be the last. We are committed to regularly visiting NSW rural and regional areas. Supporting people with HIV, local service providers and Area Health Services, helps us to identify and understand rural and regional issues and how we can make a positive difference to the health and wellbeing of people with HIV. The work continues.

For more information contact Lance on 02 93616011 freecall: 1800 245677 or email: lancef@positivelife.org.au