Hi<\/p>\n
I am really sorry to hear you are having a rough time.<\/p>\n
The recent changes in support and benefits have affected a lot of people and many of the decisions to take away support are clearly wrong.<\/p>\n
The government polices on changes benefits appear to be a disaster. Examples of where this has clearly harmed peoples lives and quality of live are commonly reported in the press. The policies are changed to reduce costs irrespective of how many people need them.<\/p>\n
It is worth appealing every decision, although I expect you might already have done this. I have no information on how often\u00a0appeal are successful.<\/p>\n
Your particular medical difficutlties should be supported by a letter from your doctor, but sometimes even this support hasn’t been enough to retain benefits.<\/p>\n
I am happy to draft a letter than outlines some of the issues that affects people who have been HIV positvie for a long time, if this would help. Some people do have residual problems from early treatment. Many of us\u00a0also have special circumstances as we grow older, having lost so many friends, lovers and partners from HIV related complications, especially before there was effective treatment.<\/p>\n
As i-Base is mainly focused on treatment information, I am sorry that we do not have advocacy support for benefits and appeals.<\/p>\n
Some HIV organisations still provide this so it is worth contacting the groups closest to where you live – or national organisations – perhaps THT – to see if they can help. Citizen’s Advice Bureau’s offer free legal advice, but many of these have also had financial cuts and run more limited services.<\/p>\n
Have you visited either your local councillor or MP surgeries?<\/p>\n