Talking About Rehabilitation by John Spencer
From: Alice - April 2004, Volume7, Issue 4
I recently had the opportunity to be at the conference representing VARCS at the Canadian Working Group on HIV Rehabilitation (CWGHR) while in Toronto. CWGHR is a national charitable nonprofit organization that promotes innovation and excellence in rehabilitation in the context of HIV disease. In Canada, the profile of HIV disease is changing. At one time, HIV infection caused decline in health, and death.
While there is still no cure for HIV disease, today new drugs can slow disease progression and help people to live longer. People living with HIV disease, their families, caregivers and those involved in treatment, education and policy face many challenges.
Living longer with HIV often means dealing with impairments, disabilities, and handicaps that range from moderate and inconvenient to severe and debilitating. These challenges are manifest in physical, psychological, and social forms. They require a series of concerted and collaborative efforts for rehabilitation.
The World Health Organization defines "impairment", "disability" and "handicap" in ways that are useful for understanding the effects of HIV disease and treatment. Impairment refers to loss of physiological or psychological functions, such as weakness or impaired cognition. Disability refers to lack of ability to perform activities such as walking or bathing. Handicap refers to a disadvantage that limits fulfillment of a role that is considered normal for a person, such as the inability to return to work.
Rehabilitation is important because people living with HIV disease experience all of these conditions. The goal of rehabilitation is to help people to improve their lives. In the context of HIV, CWGHR believes the goal of rehabilitation is to optimize the individual's participation in active living.
There were representatives from Government, AIDS service organizations, people living with HIV/AIDS, insurance companies, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and business people from the private sector present. The goal was to gather ideas and opinions to build a working base to start from to enable people with HIV/AIDS to be supported in returning to work and creating options for employers and employees.
I see that there is a way to go before most PWA's living on disability will be in a position to return to work on a full time basis. However there could be opportunities for part time employment for those who choose to work only 3-6 hours per week so as not to risk loosing there disability status.
Currently a person on CPP disability is able to earn up to and no more than $4000.00 a year and CPP is not going to change that rule. CPP is presently working on a plan the will allow a person on an established CPP benefit to go off CPP for employment and then be reinstated immediately when needed. This plan is only I the works and we should hear more in the upcoming months.
There was an overall opinion that this is more of an issue for middle income workers and people who have been in the service industry that the post secondary school educated and professionals. It is also understood that there are a number of us that are able to work very few hours but still would like to generate a little more income and now it is up to us to find a way to do that. Let's talk.