Established in 1997, Taiwan Lourdes Association has now served people living with HIV/AIDS (hereinafter “PLWHA”) for nearly 21 years. According to statistics from the Taiwan Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 35,935 people were living with HIV in Taiwan in 2017 of which approximately 2,519 people became newly infected with HIV in 2017. Men accounted for 92% of all new diagnoses and 70% between 25~49, 80% of new infections were attributed to risky sexual practices. To sum up the service performance, there are 4 areas on which we focus:
1、Stabilization
For clients with multiple needs, the number of new cases increased continuously. In response to the increasing number of cases with infection attributed to injection drug use, we constantly strive to improve and adapt our service to meet the client’s needs and the changing drug culture. We have also observed that the increase in renewal cases, suggesting that clients need long-term support and ongoing discussion with a social worker in overcoming the difficulties that they faced and reintegrating to society successfully.
2、Support
In 2017, we cooperated with 518 Human Bank to conduct an opinion survey. The results of the survey showed that more than half of small and mid-size enterprise employers surveyed have a stigma toward PLWHA. In light of the above finding, we went to campuses, enterprises, prisons and social welfare institutions to introduce the basic concepts of AIDS and drug addiction prevention. Owing to the positive feedback we enjoyed, we later received an invitation from many other organizations to talk about AIDS-related topics. This is a fundamentally important initiative for creating a friendly social, service connection and resource development.
In response to recreational drug issues, we have been running harm reduction groups since 2015. The ongoing operation and maintenance activities of the support groups have effectively promoted mutual understanding and mutual support between members. We also undertook Class 3 & 4 youth drug program and TAAF aiming at providing a wide range of specialist and generic services to meet clients’ needs.
3、 Exploration
In World AIDS Day 2017, we held the AIDS Anti-Discrimination Forum, the largest AIDS anti-discrimination conference in recent years that attracted practical work experts and scholars working in the field of AIDS for a long time and coming from across the Taiwan Straits and Asian countries. To explore the phenomenon of HIV-related stigma and discrimination, it not only paved a way for a deeper discussion from various perspectives, but also has a very profound bearing on tackling stigma and discrimination.
4、Broadening
Due to a lack of adequate resources in the rural townships, we established the Support Group in Hualien and Taitung in 2016 and 2017, respectively, and we launched VIVA GO BUS campaign to understand the needs of rurual township coporating with pharmaceuticals, local public health centers, and case managers. We plan to establish a service center in Taitung and provide a broad range of services in 2018.
2017 Statistical summary of services
Project |
Content |
Achievement |
Remarks |
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直接服務Direct service |
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Community care |
Case management & Social work intervention, resources linking, advocacy |
Cases with multiple needs opened: 353; M/F ratio: 12/1 Cases with simple needs opened: 2,487 Advocacy: 7 cases
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Total PLWHA reached: more than 30,000 |
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Financial Aid |
Life, medical, housing (including referring to other organizations) |
1,138 times; Total aid amount= NT3,240,674 |
The amount transferred directly to client accounts directly from the referral agency: NTD 875,576 |
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Counseling Services |
Support through telephone/Internet and formal counseling |
8,076 times |
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Employment consulting |
Consulting, matching, “second-hand” social skill training |
361 times |
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Referrals Services |
Housing, financial, employment and other |
217 times (mainly refers to financial referral, 150 times) |
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Halfway Shelter Home |
Housing, nutrition supplies, emotional support, health management, employment consulting, life skill training, leisure activities |
Total of 26 residents, 87 services, average stay: 71 days. Meals delivery: 3,037 persons; Psychological support: 598 persons; Health management: 818 persons; Employment consulting: 198 persons; Life skill training: 1.062 persons; Leisure activities: 27 times |
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Chao-lu Rehabilitation Farm |
Farming, reading group, spiritual courses, leisure activities |
Total of 17 residents; 205 individuals attended; Courses: 463 persons; Leisure activities: 127 events Payrolls NTD 960,260, Re-employment rate: 39% |
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Outrearch Services |
Hospitals, client’s home or other places |
Total: 247 persons |
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Phone Call and Internet Information Services |
Providing information by telephone, LINE App, emails, and internet forum system. |
Telephone service: 850 times; Internet service: 898 times |
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HIV Test Service |
Providing anonymous HIV test |
Total: 144 times |
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Drop-in Friendship Centers |
Support, leisure, meeting, conferences |
Total: 966 times |
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Workshops |
Topics on treatment, adaptation, magnetic couples, intimacy, HIV+ coming-out |
11 VIVA GO BUS talks, 279 persons; 12 growth workshops, 145 persons; 5 workshops, 97 persons |
Included VIVA GO BUS Health Education, Growth Workshops taking place across Taiwan. |
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Support Groups |
Newly diagnosed support group, Drug anonymous harm reduction group (DAHR/DA/D-talk) for opioid & non-opioid DUs; Support group in Taoyuan, Middle Age Support Group, Family of positives support group, Positives support group in Taichung |
Newly diagnosed support group: 29 sessions, 187 persons; Family support group: 3 sessions, 26 persons; Harm reduction groups: 33 sessions, 287 persons; Taoyuan support group: 8 sessions, 102 persons; Middle-aged groups: 12 sessions, 114 persons; Downshifting support groups: 12 seesions, 101 persons Taichung patient groups: 4 sessions, 95persons |
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Leisure Friendship Activities |
Festival feasts, Yoga, one-day tours, commemoration, Sister Lin story-telling |
Total 96 sessions, 1,221 persons |
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Online Services
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Facebook, Line App, website, Plus Radio |
Plus Radio: 52 episodes, 9,008 listeners; Line groups: 2,117 persons; Facebook & website: 171,896 reaches |
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Prison Visits and Counseling |
Individual/group/correspondence counseling and visits |
Individual counseling: 84 persons; Group counseling: 109 sessions, 1,825 persons; Correspondence support: 355 times. |
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Positive Alliance |
Stimulating rights, empowerment and advocacy awareness, self-help and mutual assistance |
Gathering & activities: 8 sessions, 188 persons. |
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Drug users’ family support plan |
To reduce the harm of drugs on body-mind-spiritual level, and help drug users return to their families and to the society. |
Total 82 clients served; 204 visits; 762 phone follow-ups; 342 referrals (outbound); 46 financial aid cases (NT143,752); 45 group counseling services (970 participants); 1 workshop (66 participants); 19 educational talks (48,008 participants); consulting services (110 persons) |
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Level 3 & 4 youth drug program |
Serving teenager clients below 18 years old, providing family intervention, referrals, welfare connection. |
Total 40 clients, 177 times service was provided, 350 phone follow-ups, 52 referrals |
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TLA Staff Members Training and Supervision |
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On Job Training |
Participate Workshops and training courses |
Total training times: 1,655 hours; 67 hours/person |
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Supervising |
Individual and group supervision |
Individual/group supervision: 133 sessions Case study: 79 sessions |
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Volunteers Recruitment and Training |
Recruiting, training, and supervising |
4 recruiting sessions; 108 participants; 3 training and supervising sessions, 23 participants; |
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Workshops for service providers |
On-demand training courses and workshops |
65 on-demand training courses, 2,683 participants; 6 workshops (professional), 257 participants |
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Publication |
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Education |
General public & service providers |
278 sessions, 26,336 participants. |
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Publication |
Brochures and e-books |
Total circulations: 40,000 copies; 58 e-books; 27,215 views. |
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PR Commnunication |
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Media communication |
General Public |
2 Press conferences: Apr. 24th 「Taiwan SME Workplace Friendly for PLWHA Survey Press Conference」: Total 273 reports (3 TVs/ 4 prints/ 265 online/1 radio)
Dec. 29th 「Co-creating Social Support for PLWHA Press Conference」: Total 148 reports (6 prints/ 142 online/1 radio) Other: 40 reports. |
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