Homeless Support Worker

Salary £13,764 - £14,488

Location Southampton

This is a Permanent, Part Time vacancy that will close in {x} days at {xx:xx} BST.

The Vacancy

PART TIME - 21hrs

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday

12.30pm to 8pm (start time flexible)

No weekends or bank holidays

The Day Centre is the heart of the homeless community in Southampton. We provide a safe space for up to 70 adults each day, who are experiencing homelessness, to access basic facilities such as food, clothes, showers, and laundry. The service also has a dedicated health care service on-site. We also provide accommodation for up to 10 clients.

Our aim is to support our clients to remain safe and maintain their mental and physical health; to ensure their immediate needs are met and to help clients find the right path for them to access support and long-term accommodation.

We have a close-knit, collaborative team that supports each other and our clients. If you’re looking for a fast paced, busy role, where you can make a real difference in the lives of those who you support, then this is the role for you!

JOB PURPOSE

To lead on the case management of clients and be part of a team that supports them in keeping them safe and helping them achieve their goals.

To provide people with homes and specialist support so they feel more valued and secure, and ready to take the next steps.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

To assess the needs of each client, helping to develop their individual support plan to achieve their goals
To produce and regularly review comprehensive client-based risk assessments
To manage a caseload of clients on a one-to-one basis
To support clients to gain and/or maintain accommodation or achieve outcomes defined by the service specification
To engage with local authorities, health providers and other agencies, creating and maintaining constructive working relationships to maximise the opportunities available to clients
To lead on client activities to help them gain practical life skills and encourage their engagement with the running of the service
To support clients with managing their finances, paying rent, managing arrears and accessing benefits
To encourage and signpost clients to the local community and to resources relevant to their aspirations including education, training, employment activity or volunteering
To support clients in trauma informed and psychologically informed ways
To adhere to safeguarding responsibilities, following our safeguarding policy and procedure
To help maintain health and safety, ensuring clients, visitors and buildings are safe in accordance with Health and Safety regulations, policy and procedures
To provide basic first aid assistance until help arrives (full training is provided)
To work confidently and efficiently when lone working
To maintain accurate records on our client management system and ensure these are stored in line with GDPR
To maintain confidentiality
To represent the organisation in a professional manner
To carry out any other reasonable duties required in the interest of the organisation

ROLE REQUIREMENTS

This role will require an Enhanced with Barred List(s) disclosure and barring service check is a requirement for this role. This would be completed on appointment of the role
This role may require you to work with clients on a one-to-one basis
This role may require you to lone work

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

Strong communication skills, both verbal and written
Clear verbal and written English
Good keyboard skills for data inputting
Good working knowledge of Microsoft Outlook, Excel and Word
Confident and assertive manner
Ability to self-motivate as you will work on your own
Effective team working
Ability to respond calmly to crisis
Deal promptly with and effectively react to challenging situations
Have an interest and genuine concern for homelessness and related issues

DESIRABLE CRITERIA

Experience of managing a caseload of clients
Understanding of risk assessment and person-centred, outcomes-based delivery
Understanding of the support needs of people experiencing homelessness or those with complex needs
Knowledge of voluntary and statutory agencies, housing regulations and the benefits system

We reserve the right to close our adverts early if a successful candidate is found, so please submit your application as soon as possible.

About Us

We offer support to people who are homeless, vulnerable or at risk of becoming homeless and need help rebuilding their lives for a brighter future. Our services include safe, flexible and reliable client led housing and support with a focus on reducing homelessness, improving health and wellbeing and building on individual’s skills and resilience to break the cycle of homelessness, poverty and exclusion.

We work in partnership with multiple agencies and authorities to deliver support and accommodation needs across Berkshire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Dorset.

We are dedicated to safeguarding all young people and adults with our services. We follow safer recruitment practices for all our vacancies to assure that all successful candidates are suitable to work with our clients.

We’re committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workforce that embodies our values and promotes a tolerant and respectful environment where everyone can feel empowered to succeed.

We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and will support with any reasonable adjustments needed during the recruitment process.

Our vision

To be a safety net for people in tough times and the springboard to a brighter future.

Our mission

To provide people with homes and specialist support so they feel more valued and secure, and ready to take the next steps.

Our values

Everyone matters
We know we’re stronger together
We do the right things, for the right reasons
We never give up

Our Gallery