Support Practitioner Wigan

Homeless Link; Liverpool; On-site; GBP 27,000 - 33,000; Full time

Job summary

You Matter in Wigan is seeking a compassionate Support Worker to join a new service for people experiencing homelessness and addiction. You will welcome residents, assess needs, support independence, and work closely with the leadership team to plan and deliver high-quality housing-related support.

You will collaborate with partner organisations, promote safeguarding, manage basic welfare and benefit processes, and help residents move towards stable accommodation in a psychologically informed

Qualifications

• Experience in charity or homelessness sector.
• Knowledge of welfare benefits and housing law.
• Excellent communication and teamwork skills.

Responsibilities

• Welcome new residents and carry out risk assessments.
• Ensure basic needs: housing, food, guidance.
• Promote safeguarding and confidential care.
• Develop written support plans with residents.
• Collaborate with partners to enable referrals and transitions.

Skills

Charity sector experience

Communication skills

Empathy and respect

Commitment

Organisation

Computer literacy

Education

NVQ/L2 Health and Social Care

Job description

Location: Wigan

Salary: £30,000 per annum

Hours: 37.5 per week

Job Type: Permanent/Fixed Term

Shortlisting: TBC

Interview: TBC

The Service

First Step from The Streets, Wigan will bring together accommodation, intensive person-centred support and strong partnership working to provide a coordinated response for people experiencing rough sleeping in Wigan.

For the team joining the service, it will be an opportunity to help establish a new service from the beginning and be part of an approach that recognises that, for some people, moving away from the streets starts with building trust, creating safety and taking things one step at a time.

What will this service include?

• Placements for up to 10 people
• En-suite accommodation
• 24/7 support
• Short stays of up to 12 weeks
• Psychologically and trauma-informed approach
• Focus on stability and moving towards longer-term accommodation

Why this role would be great for you

As a Support Worker at You Matter you will naturally be an empathetic and caring person wanting to provide unconditional support for those experiencing homelessness and addiction issues. Your role as a Support Worker will be to create a safe environment that empowers residents to make positive changes in their lives. To work closely as part of a team with the Director and Head of Homeless Services and Operational Leadership Team in the development of operational planning and service delivery to the highest standard. Working in partnership with The Brick to support people to access First Step from the Streets, including referrals, assessments and a supported transition into the service.

What your week may look like

• Welcoming new residents in line with the service’s policies and procedures, carry out risk assessments and support people to continue in their journey towards independence
• Ensuring the basic needs of residents are met including good quality accommodation and facilities, healthy food, advice and guidance
• Responsible for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of adults/children/young people who are at risk
• Advocate for social inclusion of the people you support ensuring they are able to access health and financial support
• Ensuring Housing Benefit and Services Charges are collected and managed effectively
• Developing and reviewing written support plans with the your residents that reflect their own needs, changes and hopes for the future
• Work alongside the people in our services to address their physical and mental health issues, including liaison with primary and secondary health teams
• Carrying out the immediate support needs of residents as appropriate, providing crisis intervention where necessary and working with services
• Ensuring all health and safety and maintenance issues are raised in a timely manner
• Participating in team meetings, supervisions and reflective practice encouraging open, honest and transparent feedback where continuous improvement is encouraged.
• Being flexible and responsive to the changing needs of the service, ensuring our SHREK values runs through all of the work that you do
• Promoting a supportive and inclusive culture within the service, valuing people and their diversity

It is recognised that the association is operating in a dynamic environment and as such this job description may be varied in consultation with the post holder to reflect evolving needs of the business and changing nature of the job.

What We Can Offer You

Working with You Matter comes will a whole host of benefits. We hope that people will find personal fulfilment and purpose by working with alongside people in our services. Our teams are compassionate and supportive, fostering a strong sense of community. With opportunities for professional growth, You Matter offers training to support your role and personal development. For a full list of benefits see here: Careers Page | You Matter.

The skills we are looking for

• EXPERIENCE– Ideally you will have a background of working within a charity, community project and/or previous involvement in the homelessness sector. You will have knowledge around supporting people with challenging and complex behaviours including substance misuse and Mental Health within a 24-hour residential support service
• KNOWLEDGE – A basic understanding of relevant and appropriate legislation, including welfare benefits and housing law. An understanding of health and safety requirements in the workplace
• COMMUNICATION – Excellent communication, fostering a respectful, collaborative and professional approach to the people who you work alongside ensuring confidentiality at all times
• EMPATHY and RESPECT – The ability to empower people to make positive changes, showing empathy whilst maintaining professional boundaries
• COMMITMENT – The ability to work in an innovative and solutions focused way, including reflecting and learning as you go, and a willingness to flex and adapt approaches as needed
• ORGANISATION – Strong time management and the ability to manage to prioritise tasks
• COMPUTER LITERACY – You will be IT literate and have experience of working with multiple software programs such as Microsoft Office and Outlook.

What is a nice to have

• NVQ/L2 in Health and Social Care or equivalent
• Experience of working within a psychologically informed working environment
• Knowledge of housing management and IT databases
• Awareness of benefits and how they work including Universal Credit and other welfare systems

Credit and other welfare systems

You Matter is an equal opportunities employer, values diversity and is strongly committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all employees and all applicants for employment. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, regardless of age, disability, gender, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation.