Our History

As early as the beginning of the 1990s, the need and the idea for a housing project emerged within Aidshilfe Heidelberg. Thanks to an apartment provided by the GGH, this project became reality in 1995: four people living with HIV who required an increased level of assistance moved into a shared apartment together, supported by an Aidshilfe staff member. In 1997, due to formal regulations, the housing project was transferred from Aidshilfe Heidelberg into an independent association named "PositHIV Wohnen in Heidelberg e.V." Since then, PositHIV Wohnen in Heidelberg e.V. offered support not only for the shared apartment but also for individuals living in their own homes ("outpatient assisted independent living"). After the shared apartment eventually had to be dissolved, the service shifted to focus exclusively on individuals with their own apartments in Heidelberg and the Rhein-Neckar District.

From 2016 to 2022, these services were restructured by the Federal Participation Act ("Bundesteilhabegesetz"). Following the new framework and service agreement for "Assistance Services in One's Own Living Space and Social Environment (AWS)", this support has been offered directly by Aidshilfe again since 2022. Because the separate association PositHIV Wohnen in Heidelberg e.V. was no longer needed, it was dissolved. Since that time, Aidshilfe supported individuals living with HIV and other diagnoses in their daily lives under the project name "PositHIV Wohnen".

In 2025, we opened this support service to a wider group of people beyond those who are HIV-positive. We now also cater to relatives of people living with HIV, queer individuals, as well as people with a history of migration, people who use drugs, or people engaged in sex work. Because of this expansion, the old name no longer fit, and the service was renamed to: aws RheinNeckar - Your life. Your pace. Our support.

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