HBDCA is pleased to announce the launch of LIBERTY, a dedicated provision under the HBDCA banner servicing the needs of the Infected Blood community.
HBDCA Liberty supports people infected and affected by Contaminated Blood through partnering with funding schemes to provide ongoing psychological support.
HBDCA, with its unique understanding of the complex issues faced, provides its clients with effective therapy in a way that other external therapists and psychologists might not be able to. Without such a deep grounding, we believe it is difficult to provide truly effective support to this vulnerable and traumatised group, particularly in light of the Infected Blood Inquiry and the memories it may bring up.
With this in mind we are thrilled to publicise HBDCA Liberty’s involvement in two services. First, the much-awaited Terrence Higgins Trust MacFarlane Trust Counselling Service. HBDCA is pleased to be the only named organisation listed providing psychological support. Through this scheme, former MacFarlane beneficiaries may apply for up to 24 free counselling sessions, and further sessions may be made available at the discretion of the therapist following a review of progress.
We are also supporting the England Infected Blood Support Scheme (EIBSS), a service that allows anyone impacted by Infected Blood personally and their families to access psychological support to the value of £900. With this funding, people historically infected with HIV or Hepatitis C may receive payment which enables them to access a counsellor through HBDCA Liberty, or a counsellor of their choice.
If you or your close family members: spouse, partner, parent, widow, adult child would find our support helpful, please see further details on our Counselling page, for details of how to apply.
We realise that this has been a long time coming, and we at HBDCA Liberty are committed to helping as many people as possible access psychological care. Despite lack of funding to date, we have continued to support the Infected Blood community. We will continue to advocate for further funding to ensure this crucial support continues beyond what has been made available for those eligible by the Terence Higgins MacFarlane Trust scheme.
