On April 10-11, on the basis of STEP Center for Social Rehabilitation, Nizhny Novgorod, training for peer consultants has taken place. The consultants have already been educated and now they participate in the project implementation. This training was aimed at raising qualification of consultants working in the project and providing advice to women, living with HIV. The participants shared their experience in consulting, get additional useful information to counsel effectively, and get additional practical skills.
A peer counselor is a person living with HIV, having accepted the diagnosis, and had been trained in peer counseling. A peer counselor helps a person with HIV-positive status to maintain control over their own life and their health, as well as the health of their loved ones. A peer consultant establishes trusting, in other words, “equal” relationship with a person living with HIV. Referring to his own experience of living with illness, he supports a person in difficult time and provides an important information about the disease.
This is not just a heart-to-heart talk, it is a professional social service provided by a trained specialist.
Peer counseling can have a significant impact on the condition of an HIV-positive person, protect her from impulsive decisions and even save her life.
This training, as well as the work of peer consultants, is implemented within the framework of the project “Comprehensive support for women living with HIV affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Nizhny Novgorod and Rostov Regions” with the support of the Presidential Grants Fund.
