Housing First Worker - Swansea

Introduction

The Wallich is a homelessness charity delivering innovative housing and support services to homeless and vulnerably housed people. The Organisation formed in 1978 in Cardiff and now supports around 8000 people a year across Wales. Our work falls into four principal areas:

1. Residential supported housing projects, including direct access hostels, emergency night shelters and accommodation for people with specific issues such as substance misuse, youth services etc.

2. Floating (Tenancy) support projects in which we support people who have tenancy difficulties, sometimes with a contributing health or other need, and are in danger of losing their homes.

3. Prevention or intervention projects supplied through Homelessness Prevention Grant funding which are a broad range of services that prevent homelessness or make life better for homeless people.

4. Participation and Progression services, which are embedded in all our projects enhancing support through providing opportunities for Service Users to take an active part in their community. These services include those designed to enable people to move into meaningful activities including employment and training opportunities.

The Wallich’s values are of empowerment and treating people with dignity, respect and unconditional positive regard. The Wallich is committed to providing services that are trauma informed and delivered with Psychologically Informed Environments (PIE) at the heart of its support. A PIE is an approach to supporting people out of homelessness whilst making significant and positive progress in overcoming trauma, substance misuse and mental illness. It also considers the psychological needs of staff: developing skills and knowledge, increasing motivation, job satisfaction and resilience. At the heart of what we do are the people we support, who are actively and meaningfully involved in their own support and encouraged to participate in the design, development and delivery of services.

Project Description

Housing First is based around the ethos that housing is a human right and differs from traditional supported housing and homelessness provision that places a number of conditions on people to prove that they are ready for independent housing.

The model was first developed in New York in 1992, with the approach growing in popularity in the UK. The aim of Housing First is to successfully support people with repeat histories of homelessness, who experience multiple disadvantages, into independent and stable accommodation, through the provision of intensive wrap-around and trauma informed support.

The principles of Housing First are:

• People have a right to a home

• Flexible support is provided for as long as is needed

• Housing and support are separated

• Individuals have choice and control

• An active and assertive engagement approach is used

• People are supported to identify their strengths, goals and aspirations

• A harm reduction approach is used

Purpose of Role

The Housing First Worker will be responsible for coordinating and providing a flexible person centred, solution focused service, applying an assertive engagement and positive risk-taking approach, in line with Housing First principles. Within legal, moral and ethical boundaries, Housing First provision relies on staff being committed to the ethos, applying a ‘can do, will do’ approach, that focuses on the long-term goal of creating sustainable tenancies and maximising connectivity with the local community. The Project Worker will be working in an outreach capacity to enable clients to access the services and interventions they need to build their resilience, gain confidence, reduce harm and acquire the personal and social skills they need to meet their aspirations.

Note: Housing First relies on staff providing an intensive and responsive service. On occasions, this will mean that staff do not necessarily work their anticipated hours of work, and alterations to their working day are required at short notice. In addition to the out of hours on-call rota, staff may even be contacted out of hours by colleagues who will check their availability for providing assistance, meaning disruption to work-life balance is a possibility.

This role is subject to an Enhanced DBS disclosure.

No Agencies.

We do not accept unsolicited agency referrals for this position and do not consider any applicants, to have been introduced to us via agency.

Main Duties, Responsibilities and Person Profile

Main Duties and Responsibilities

1. Enhanced, Accessible and Flexible Service Delivery

a. To work flexibly ensuring service delivery is available weekdays, weekends, evenings, early mornings, bank holidays, and possibly even at night, and at short notice, in response to the individual needs of each client and their respective landlords.

b. To be part of a rota that provides out of hours telephone cover (24/365) to all clients of the service, and where appropriate and you’re able to, attend work where required.

c. To accept calls from the out of hours cover worker (when able to do so) with a view to providing assistance with out of hours interventions (when able to do so) where lone working is not possible

d. To assist in covering your colleagues’ case load when required.

e. To work alone and with others, complete dynamic risk assessments and maintain own safety by following lone working procedures and by adopting a positive risk-taking approach.

f. To ensure that all Clients are treated fairly and afforded equality of opportunity.

2. Personalised, Psychologically Informed and Harm Minimising Support

a. Perform robust assessments of project referrals to ensure the service is provided to those that meet the eligibility criteria.

b. To coordinate a small case load and establish an open and trusted relationship and act as each client’s single point of contact and support.

c. To perform needs assessments and develop respective support plans and review when required.

d. To perform dynamic risk assessments and develop risk management plans, adopting a positive and innovative risk-taking approach, in line with national and organisational safeguarding procedures.

e. To deliver trauma informed support using a range of therapeutic skills and psychosocial interventions.

f. To support Clients to develop independent living skills, however, a ‘do for’ approach should be adopted to prevent crisis or tenancy failure where appropriate. For example, staff should transport and accompany clients to appointments which have a significant baring on their accommodation, wellbeing or progression.

g. To promote and teach life skills and encourage adaptive and positive behaviours that function for wellbeing, aiding individuals to develop into active and productive members of their communities.

h. To promote, encourage and deliver a range of harm reduction measures:

• Safer injecting advice

• Polydrug use advice

• NPS HR (including spice)

• Alcohol withdrawal advice

• Alcohol brief interventions

• General / Sexual health advice

• Nutrition advice

• BBV awareness & testing/vaccination

• Stimulant advice (Crack cocaine)

• Opiate Substitution Therapy advice

• Overdose Prevention / Awareness

• Naloxone training and administration

i. Facilitate access to and oversee expenditure of each client’s individual budget.

3. Service User Participation and Co-production

a. To develop and provide co-productive ways of working with Clients.

b. To ensure that Clients are able to attend and participate in a range of socially inclusive activities and skill development opportunities.

c. To facilitate and support Client involvement in the running of the organisation and individual services through key working and in liaison with the Client Forums.

d. Ensure Clients are consulted in relevant aspects of service management and quality.

e. Implement and /or take part in effective consultation, participation and communication mechanisms with individual Clients and Client groups.

4. Partnership Working

a. To advise on, liaise with, and facilitate access to other agencies including; Adult Social Care; criminal justice services; health services; drug and alcohol services; employment and training agencies.

b. Negotiate with and influence key stakeholders to ensure clients have optimum levels of housing choice and access to appropriate levels of support and care.

c. Build and maintain networks with staff from other agencies to ensure Housing First is widely known and promoted.

d. Build relationships and liaise with landlords to assist with all aspects of clients’ tenancies, including practical help with furniture, anti-social behaviour, benefits advice and accompanied/joint visits.

e. Engage with local communities to sensitively address negative stereotypes, build supportive points of access, and encourage activity and opportunity for engagement.

f. Attend relevant forums such as MARAC, MAPPA, Safeguarding, to proactively represent and advocate for Housing First clients to maintain their tenancy and address their wider support needs.

5. Service Excellence and Monitoring

a. Maintaining accurate up to date records on the case management system of; progress against individual support plans; risk management plans and outcomes and monitoring information, in line with general data protection regulation.

b. Contribute to performance improvement initiatives by providing related data and identifying service deficiencies, positive impacts, preventative actions and demonstrable outcomes of the service against the performance management framework.

c. To fully participate in the development and operation of new systems, programmes and initiatives.

d. To maintain regular communication with all project staff relating to the need for changes to clients’ needs, risk assessments and support plans.

e. To report regularly to management, communicating any issues arising during the course of work that require policy decisions.

f. To work with the management team to enable the Wallich to develop its aims and objectives by participating in meetings and processes to further organisational policy and practice development.

g. To ensure that accurate project expenditure records are maintained and that full daily petty cash handovers are completed in line with local financial procedures.

h. To work in line with all Wallich policies and procedures and the organisation’s service standards; Great Expectations.

6. Supporting Volunteers, Peers and Students

a. To provide regular supervision to allocated volunteers/peers/students in line with The Wallich Supervision Policy.

b. To mentor volunteers/peers/students providing hands on experience in a safe environment.

c. To agree with volunteers/peers/students any development needs and take appropriate measures to action these.

d. To monitor work done by volunteers/peers/students and to ensure that duties and responsibilities are fulfilled, and obligations are met.

e. To ensure that volunteers/peers/students have a consistent understanding of the mission, values, aims, objectives and policies and procedures of the project

7. Other

a. To work and travel across Swansea, and further afield as and when required.

b. To participate in appraisal, supervision and Learning and Development processes.

c. To seek to improve personal performance, contribution, knowledge and skills

The list of duties and responsibilities is not an exhaustive one and may be varied from time to time by the organisation. This job description is subject to regular review.

Person Profile

Key:App – Application/CV CQ – Certificate of Qualification Int – Interview

Interviews to be held on 7th February 2022

T2