Our Mission, Values and Objectives

Mission

ACET Jersey has three strategic goals. We aim to:

Prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in Jersey
Ensure everyone affected has equal access to treatment together with emotional and practical care and support
Eradicate HIV-related stigma and discrimination

We achieve this by:

Influencing attitudes, behaviour and decisions at all levels that have an impact on the lives of people affected by, and at risk of, HIV and AIDS in Jersey.
Providing practical and emotional care and support for all who are affected by HIV, regardless of how they come to be so, fighting stigma and discrimination and encouraging acceptance of those with HIV.
Delivering life-saving education, encouraging long-term healthy lifestyle choices, giving young people the skills and confidence to resist peer pressure and to find their own way, using messages that are clear and adapted to each audience.
Providing training for employers, professionals and workers on all the issues, including stigma and discrimination, associated with HIV/AIDS in the workplace and the wider community.

We aim to provide HIV care, education and training that is effective, sensitive and appropriate to all members of our diverse community.

To achieve this we have adopted the following values, which underpin our services:

Accessible to all. We take account of the particular needs of different groups in our diverse community, for example people whose first language is not English.
Affirming diversity. We reflect an understanding of diversity in all our practice, supporting the right to sexual health for all. In particular, we pay attention to the needs of vulnerable and marginalised groups and communities who might suffer from discrimination or inequalities in sexual health.
Equipping individuals and groups to resist coercion. This includes equipping people with a belief in their sexual health rights and the skills to identify and avoid pressure, exploitation, abuse, harassment and bullying.
Supporting the development of self-esteem. Self-esteem plays a vital role in enabling individuals, groups and communities to negotiate equally and to make healthy choices and decisions.
Enabling people to develop practical skills as key elements of sexual health and related decision making. We recognise that simply giving people facts does not change behaviour. We therefore aim to help people take more control over their lives, their health and their bodies for example by acquiring practical skills such as negotiation or assertiveness.

Our current priorities and objectives include:

Providing confidential practical and emotional support services in both English and Portuguese for people living with or affected by HIV in Jersey. This includes providing advice and information as well as practical and financial support when needed.
Providing an advocacy service on behalf of all people living with or affected by HIV in Jersey.

Delivering a programme of HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention education as part of the PSHE curriculum in local secondary schools and other educational settings.
Creating opportunities for young people in youth clubs and other community settings to discuss, reflect upon and explore their attitudes, values and beliefs in relation to HIV, sexual health and drugs.
Delivering a programme of Blood-borne virus awareness and prevention education for staff and prisoners at HMP La Moye.
Creating educational opportunities for migrant workers to access local health information and improve their health literacy, in the context of a community development programme.
Providing a website, in both English and Portuguese, with comprehensive information about all the issues associated with HIV/AIDS care, education and training in Jersey.
Providing free publications and printed resources, which educate all sectors of the community about the issues surrounding HIV/AIDS. This currently includes HIV Facts for Life, a booklet for teenagers, A Parent’s Toolkit, and Adam and Eve, a guide to sexual health in Portuguese.

Providing a comprehensive training programme of equality and diversity training for employers, workers and employee representatives on all issues associated with HIV in the workplace
Developing and implementing a training programme to tackle blood-borne viruses at HMP La Moye
Delivering an equality and diversity training programme, Working towards am HIV-friendly School, for staff in all island schools.
Delivering HIV child protection training for Social Workers, Professionals and other staff working with HIV-positive children and young people and their families.
Providing training to help English and Portuguese parents talk to their children about sex and relationships and support them as they grow up and face the challenges sexual maturity brings.

Last updated April 2010