Floating Care offers secure housing and additional support services for people living with HIV who have complex support needs. To be eligible for Floating Care the individual must be homeless, at risk of homelessness or be unsuitably housed as well as having significant health concerns directly relating to HIV. Health concerns may include neurological effects of HIV, mental illness, co-infection. Additionally clients may also have issues related to alcohol and other drug use.. For more information and/or to make a referral, please contact “The most rewarding aspect of my job is seeing people’s quality of life improve. A program like Floating Care enables us to help people with really challenging needs. When they realise you’re there because you care, you can develop trust and work on each issue at a pace that’s suited to the client.
Funded by NSW Health and the Office of Community Housing, Floating Care provides twenty units of community-based rental accommodation in metropolitan
• Maintain stable tenancies
• Improve financial management skills
• Improve HIV management
• Increase independence and self-confidence
• Enhance social skills
• Increase participation in study programs
• Reduce isolation.
The provision of secure housing through Floating Care has enabled clients and their support workers to focus on their health needs, thereby leading to a reduction in hospitalisation and episodes of acute care over time.How Floating Care makes a difference
“We’re also encouraged to think laterally. For example, one client wouldn’t attend any appointments because he got claustrophobic in offices. I suggested meeting in a park, and that was the first step to him re-engaging with society. Now he is living independently, catching the bus and accepting support. You really can achieve noticeable results.”
A Senior Case Worker
“The Bobby Goldsmith Foundation is a great point of contact when working with tenants with HIV on community housing issues. The foundation supports the tenant, but also understands that for SWISH to run efficiently, we need tenants to abide by the terms of their tenancy and pay rent on time.
“We often work together to turn negative situations into positive outcomes. PLWH can have a range of complex issues to cope with and these aren’t always recognised by the general community. So having the Bobby Goldsmith Foundation and the Floating Care supported housing program available is just brilliant. A lot of people would fall through the cracks without the services they provide.”
Davina Lomas, (Bridge Housing)
“Floating Care helped me maintain stability in my life so that I could return to a normal life, including work and study. “With the help of a dedicated social worker (who really supported me through a time when I was not relating to the world very well) and with the benefit of supported accommodation, I was able to dip my toe into the real world and slowly re-establish connections.
“Now I am working, living with a partner in an apartment and focusing on finding a good job. I am thinking about a mortgage and basically participating in a normal life.
“Through Floating Care I learned that there are many services available to support me with my issues relating to HIV. I am now able to access these services when I feel I need them and if I am struggling I know that there is always help. Floating Care has equipped me with skills for living.”
A former Floating Care client