Casual Supported Accommodation Worker

YMCA Robin Hood Group; Town of Mansfield (NY); On-site; USD 40,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

YMCA Robin Hood Group in Town of Mansfield is seeking a housing support worker to empower residents toward independent living. You will guide residents, signpost services, and lead life-skills sessions while managing conflicts and ensuring benefits are claimed to cover housing costs.

Ideal candidates will have experience with vulnerable populations, strong communication, and a commitment to helping people access essential services.

Qualifications

• Experience supporting vulnerable or challenging people.
• Strong communication skills.
• Familiarity with welfare systems and housing benefits.

Responsibilities

• Interact with residents to monitor progress toward independent accommodation.
• Signpost residents to internal and external support provisions.
• Lead sessions with residents to develop life skills and community integration.
• Mediate disputes between residents and uphold procedures with line-manager support.
• Ensure residents claim housing benefits and other entitlements to cover rent and service charges.
• Address anti-social behaviour with notices and warnings per procedures.
• Support moves toward independent living, including housing, healthcare, and local services access.
• Occasional property visits; flexibility for early mornings, evenings, or weekends may be required.

Job description

On a day-to-day basis, you can expect your role to include:

• Positively interacting with residents, monitoring and reviewing their progress to achieving the goal of independent accommodation.
• Signposting residents to appropriate internal and external support provisions.
• Lead sessions with residents with the aim of sustaining their accommodation, developing life skills, and becoming a part of the local community.
• Mediation of any disputes/conflicts between residents.
• Ensuring residents claim housing benefit and other benefits as applicable to ensure payment of rent and service charges.
• Dealing with anti-social behaviour issues, serve notices and verbal and written warnings in accordance with procedures, and with the support of your line manager.
• Work with residents in their move towards independent living e.g. advising on obtaining furniture and supplies, registering with healthcare providers, and providing information on local services.

About You:

This is a demanding but rewarding role which requires experience of supporting vulnerable/challenging people with a variety of needs. Your communication skills will be your greatest strength.

Experience in Supported Housing or an understanding of the challenges faced by vulnerable individuals is valuable.

You will be promoting and empowering residents to live independently, offering guidance on essential services such as housing benefits, personal budgets, and accessing the right resources.

Familiarity with welfare systems is beneficial, but a commitment to learning and staying informed is equally important.

You must be proactive and passionate about supporting people and share our belief that everyone should have a fair chance to discover who they are and what they can become.

You must understand the needs of homeless people and the services available to them.

You must be confident in lone-working and managing your own schedule, as well as working with your team to achieve results.

Ideally, you will have a full clean driving license and access to own transport as visits, sometimes at short notice, to the shared accommodation properties will be required.

This is primarily a Monday-Friday role, but occasional early mornings, evenings, or weekend shifts may be required to support the team.

Why You’ll Love This Role?

Impactful Work: Be part of meaningful changes in people’s lives every day.

Career Growth: Develop your understanding and gain qualifications and experience in housing support and working with vulnerable people and/or people experiencing homelessness.

Supportive Environment: Work within a dedicated team that values collaboration, continuous learning, and compassion.

This post is subject to a satisfactory enhanced DBS check (paid for by YMCA) and registration with the DBS Update Service. We reserve the right to withdraw this role before the closing date should we be able to appoint to the role.