VISION
People with HIV have the capacity and opportunity to enhance their own quality of life and the quality of life of their partners and communities.
MISSION
Positive Life NSW affirms its commitment to each of the following strategies, which together reflect our vision of health promotion.
Positive Life NSW is a trusted, grassroots, community organisation that connects personally with and draws its inspiration from people with HIV, their partners and communities.
Positive Life NSW is an effective advocacy organisation that builds powerful coalitions, harnesses evidence and creates supportive environments that improve life for people with HIV, their partners and communities.
Positive Life NSW is a professional health promotion agency that makes a significant positive impact on the range of health issues for people with HIV, their partners and communities.
Positive Life NSW is an employer of choice with an engaged and skillful Board, a creative, vital and multidisciplinary workplace supported by effective systems and a diversity of funding sources.
CONTEXT
Positive activism has transformed the lives of people with HIV. Since the early days of the epidemic Australia has led the world with effective partnerships between community, government, researchers and clinicians. A strong positive voice has been at the core of this success, and this is a principle we intend to build on.
Not all people with HIV* have shared in the gains. We have lost loved ones, friends and family. Some of us continue to struggle with ill health and social marginalisation, in some cases related directly to advanced HIV illness. Many of these people face other health problems as well as living with HIV.
At the same time a large number of people with HIV are engaged in other aspects of their lives and, while they may participate in events or appreciate the benefits of our advocacy, do not see our organisation as relevant to them in their day to day lives. Some of these people face other emerging health issues, but do not know of our concern to address these issues.
In 2004 PLWHA NSW set itself on a new direction, to be a leading health promotion organisation. We sought to address the range of health issues facing positive people to better integrate the different aspects of our organisation's work, ensure it has a health promotion focus and to confront social and political marginalisation. We acknowledge the need not just to speak for people with HIV, but also to their partners and communities.
In 2008 we affirm this direction. We have reviewed our progress and our failures. We have taken stock of changes in our environment. We have heard of the great range of issues to which people want us to respond – from health to stigma and discrimination, from personal challenges and isolation to social justice and poverty. We have also heard that people want a better understanding of what we do. They want us to maintain our grassroots connections and reach out to positive people and their partners and communities who may not necessarily be focussed on HIV.
In this new Strategic Plan we propose to strengthen the direction set in 2004. We propose to:
- Rename our organisation Positive Life NSW in 2008 – to say what we mean;
- To simplify and make clear our priorities – to make sure we mean what we say;
- To state our plans more strongly and with fewer words – to be accountable.
* The World Health Organisation has now changed its terminology for people living with HIV/AIDS to people with HIV, in recognition of the changed role of AIDS within the spectrum of HIV illness. We agree that this change reflects new realities but also want to honour those who have experienced and died from AIDS
STRATEGIC DIRECTION 1 - Engaging Positive People
We will:
Continue to recognise and speak with strength from the predominant gay male experience of the NSW epidemic.
Strengthen our statewide leadership role in HIV advocacy by building strong relationships with other positive groups, so we can engage with issues of importance for:
- positive heterosexuals, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse positive people, their partners and communities; and
- positive people living in outer metropolitan, rural and regional people, their partners and communities.
Review our communication strategies – including internet based approaches – to connect in new ways with people with HIV, their partners and communities.
Respond to the feedback we receive that we need to more effectively publicise the range of work we do for positive people, their partners and communities
What might this mean in practice?
We will:
Further strengthen our capacities in evaluation.
Initiate a significant regional NSW project to engage directly with positive people, their partners and communities in outer metropolitan, rural and remote NSW.
Engage meaningfully with smaller HIV positive organisations, emerging groups and their issues.
Review our current communication strategies and try new approaches.
How will we know we have achieved this?
We hope to see:
A new regional project as part of the core work of Positive Life NSW.
Positive Life NSW using new media to communicate with positive people, their partners and communities.
New strategies to measure the engagement of different groups of positive people, their partners and communities with Positive Life NSW.
STRATEGIC DIRECTION 2 - Positive Advocacy
We will:
Ensure we are well represented, active and play an effective role in the National Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS (NAPWA).
Build on our strong relationships with ACON and the Bobby Goldsmith Foundation, to work together for positive people, their partners and communities in NSW, including:
Re-invigorating advocacy on discrimination within the health and community services systems.
Working to identify and address unmet needs for positive people, their partners and communities in NSW.
Advocating for the health system as a whole to view HIV related mortality and morbidity as preventable, pointing to systemic failures that must be addressed, across the range of primary and tertiary services.
What might this mean in practice?
We will:
Develop a systemic advocacy program.
We will annually identify and act on at least two priority issues to progress.
Work with ACON, BGF, NSW Health and other NSW Government agencies to improve access, discrimination and health outcomes for positive people, their partners and communities.
Develop the role of Positive Speakers in systemic advocacy.
How will we know we have achieved this?
We hope to see:
That we will have gained funding for a systemic advocacy program as part of Positive Life NSW.
Measures of the effectiveness of Positive Life NSW advocacy.
The issues we have identified and raised incorporated in the plans and actions of relevant government, community and business stakeholders.
STRATEGIC DIRECTION 3 - Health Education
We will:
Maintain our leadership role by ensuring our work continues to respond to emerging evidence.
Seek partnerships with health organisations in relevant fields – diabetes, heart disease, cancer, mental health and alcohol and other drugs.
Use these new relationships to develop strategies to address these health issues – noting our strong expectation for other “mainstream” services to take our needs seriously themselves.
Seek, through our new partnerships, more diverse funding sources.
Take a leadership role in gathering, interpreting and advocating from emerging evidence to these organisations, including our view of the social and cultural context for people with HIV, their partners and communities.
Continue to strengthen our peer and support services to focus on people living longer with HIV, positive working people and people in sero-discordant relationships, as well as our support for those who are more recently diagnosed.
Continue play a key role role in HIV prevention and sexual health.
Pursue health promotion opportunities at the places where positive people seek clinical care and community support – including GPs and pharmacies.
What might this mean in practice?
We will:
Forge new relationships with other health sector non-government bodies – including in diabetes, vascular health, cancer, Hepatitis C, mental health and alcohol and other drugs – so that they address these issues for people with HIV, their partners and communities.
Identify and act on annual health education priorities consistent with research, National and State Strategies and other evidence.
Present issues to these groups in ways based on our analysis of the cultural and social context for positive people, their partners and families.
Research need and establish new peer and support groups and programs as necessary.
Further strengthen our capacities in research, planning and evaluation.
How will we know we have achieved this?
We hope to see:
Positive Life NSW access resources from outside the traditional HIV funding programs.
Other health sector organisations specifically address issues for positive people, their partners and communities.
New strategies to develop and distribute our health education resources and to measure the effectiveness of these strategies.
STRATEGIC DIRECTION 4 - Employer of Choice
We will:
Seek professional development opportunities for our staff through our partnerships.
Continue to support our multi-disciplinary workplace, our professional, evidence based approach and our passion.
Ensure a sustainable workload across the organisation.
What might this mean in practice?
We will:
Implement a professional staff development program, accessing opportunities for our staff through partner organisations, as well as in their own work.
Ensure professional supervision opportunities, both within our office and with other appropriate agencies.
How will we know we have achieved this?
We hope to see:
Continued evidence of professional respect for the expertise and knowledge of our staff.
Another Enterprise Agreement with our staff negotiated and signed.
Success in filling vacancies that arise.
Careful monitoring of staff turnover and levels of overtime worked by staff.
| Attachment | Size | Type |
|---|---|---|
| PL Strategic Plan 2008-2010 | 108.01 KB |  PDF |