Support Practitioner Wigan

You Matter; Wigan; On-site; GBP 12,000 - 18,000; Full time

Job summary

You Matter is establishing a new First Step service in Wigan to provide accommodation, intensive person-centred support, and strong partnership working for people experiencing rough sleeping. The role focuses on trust-building, safety, and moving residents toward longer-term housing while coordinating with The Brick and internal leadership teams.

As a Support Worker you will help create a safe environment, work within a trauma-informed framework, and support residents in their journey toward

Qualifications

• Experience in charity or homelessness sector.
• Knowledge of welfare benefits and housing law.
• Excellent communication with confidentiality at all times.
• Empathy with professional boundaries.
• Willingness to adapt approaches.
• Strong organization and time management.

Responsibilities

• Welcome new residents in line with policies and assess risk.
• Ensure basic needs: accommodation, food, guidance.
• Promote welfare and safeguarding of adults/children/young people at risk.
• Advocate for social inclusion and access to health/financial support.
• Manage Housing Benefit and service charges.
• Develop and review written support plans reflecting residents’ needs and hopes.
• Collaborate with health teams to address physical/mental health issues.
• Provide crisis intervention and immediate support as needed.
• Raise health, safety and maintenance issues promptly.
• Participate in team meetings and reflective practice for continuous improvement.

Skills

Empathy

Communication

Organisation

Commitment

Computer literacy

Homelessness sector experience

Welfare benefits knowledge

Education

NVQ/L2 Health & Social Care

Tools

Microsoft Office

Outlook

Job description

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.

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