Housing First Worker

PART TIME - 26hrs

Hours to be agreed. Tuesday Thursday and Friday must be included in working week.

- Housing First Worker

West Berkshire Housing First - supports adults who have high needs and histories of entrenched or repeat homelessness providing them with a home of their own where they can regain stability safety and support. We work in partnership with the Council and other housing providers to deliver intensive person-centred support and accommodation choices.

Our priority is to find safe permanent housing thats suitable for the client. Once housing is found our dedicated team provides intensive one to one support to enable them to maintain their accommodation and achieve their goals.
If you love working with people and are looking for an exciting role where you can develop your skills then this is the role for you.

JOB PURPOSE

To be part of a team that supports our clients by providing intensive wrap around support keeping them safe and helping them to 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 personalised support plan and safety plan to achieve their goals. These are kept under regular review
• To manage a personal caseload of clients who require intensive support on a one-to-one basis
• Providing assertive outreach for those that are rough sleeping to build a trusting relationship which will require a flexible approach to engagement techniques.
• To provide practical support when a client moves into a property such as setting up utilities sourcing furniture developing their domestic skills and accessing services in the community
• To mediate and negotiate with housing providers to secure accommodation and prevent homelessness when applicable
• To engage with local authorities health providers and other agencies creating and maintaining working relationships to maximise the opportunities available to clients
• To liaise with colleges training agencies employers to help clients gain access to education find work or maintain their benefit entitlement
• To lead on client activities to help them gain practical life skills
• To support clients by providing advice on housing welfare benefits rent deposits and household goods via a variety of schemes
• To support clients to understand harm reduction approaches to keep them safe and well
• To carry out housing management duties such as collecting service charges at various locations
• 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

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 have some instances of lone working
• 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 the complex support needs of people experiencing homelessness or those with complex needs
• Knowledge of Safeguarding practices
• Knowledge of voluntary and statutory agencies housing regulations and the benefits system
• Understanding of risk assessment and person-centred outcomes-based delivery

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

Two Saints is committed to safeguarding and safer recruitment. We carry out pre--employment checks such as DBS checks Overseas police checks (where appropriate) reference checks and CV gap querying for all new staff members.

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 individuals 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.

Were 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.