Project Worker

**Project Worker (Link)**

**Weekly Hours**: 37.5 hours (part-time hours / job share will be considered)

**Rate of Pay**: (2021-22): £26,245 per annum + 5% pension (pay award pending)

**Term**: Fixed-term to 30th June 2024

**Place of work**: Healthy Minds Halifax office; travel required

**Background**:
The Healthy Minds Link project has been commissioned to explore alternative (outside of the statutory system) support for those stuck in a mental health ‘crisis loop’ and to find ways out of that loop. The Link is unique and differs from other Healthy Minds services in that it focusses on individual rather than peer support and builds a longer-term, supportive relationship, focussing on progression and making changes. It differs from statutory services in that it is non-clinical - not responding or planning according to diagnoses. We work carefully to complement and add to statutory services already available, rather than replace them.

This post is funded by Calderdale Cares Partnership / West Yorkshire ICB (NHS)

**Job Summary**:
Link workers offer intensive one to one support to people who frequently contact IHBTT (Intensive Home Based Treatment Team), A&E, Safespace or emergency services. These are people who may feel “stuck”, making lots of contacts that, whilst keeping them safe at that moment, can be unproductive as they get different responses from different services and are not enabled to address whatever has led to their distress. Link workers will explore options with people who fit this profile to find positive ways ahead, supporting them as required. As appropriate, and with people’s consent, they will liaise with other services such as IHBTT and A&E to ensure there is a coordinated approach across services that benefits the person: this might set out agreed service limits and alternatives to which all parties can refer. The link worker can also be a point of contact for other services who have identified “high intensity users” who could benefit from alternative approaches. We already have good links and information-sharing agreements with IHBTT and the Lead Nurse for High Intensity Users at A&E. The link workers will liaise with these services and others in the health system to identify potential referrals and work together to find mutually beneficial solutions for the person concerned. Link workers will advocate for the service user where necessary, ensuring that their views are heard and best interests are served. The overall aims of the link worker approach are to enable positive and lasting change for people being supported, and to reduce the burden on services across the system.

**Main tasks**:

- **Receive and administer referrals, **discussing with the Link team and liaising with referring agencies and the individual concerned to assess suitability
- **1-1 support**:

- The Link Worker:

- works with the participant to make a practical, achievable plan, using a one step at a time approach so that progress can be easily monitored
- is alongside the participant while they make the changes they want and need in their life
- helps keep the focus on strengths
- has regular reviews with the participant to look at whats working well
- helps keep the participant focussed on their own aims for making change
- supports (and might occasionally advocate for) participants to access other useful info, advice, support, activities as part of their plan
- encourages participants to develop daily routines that work best for them
- meets/makes contact once a week, at a regular time agreed by both
- **Group Work / Problem Solving Sessions**:

- Groups are run on a modular, rolling programme basis. The sessions provide opportunity for peer support, psycho-education, relationship building and co-production of further sessions. Problem solving modules/focus areas are: emotions, impulses and relationships
- **Arrange and facilitate monthly drop-in sessions, **providing an opportunity for co-production (of the wider project), peer support and informal/social contact.
- **Maintain contact records on the service database**

**Project-wide**:

- To work appreciatively with volunteers, including providing support and supervision as required
- To take responsibility for acting on safeguarding concerns
- To promote the service across the “system”, including voluntary, community and statutory partners, representing Healthy Minds at partnership and strategic meetings as required
- To undertake monitoring and evaluation, which actively involves participants
- To produce quarterly activity and monitoring reports as required
- To prepare information as requested for management and stakeholders to enable a transparent and accountable input and outcomes.

**General Work-related Expectations**:

- To work within Healthy Minds’ values, ethos and vision
- To ensure that Recovery is at the heart of what we do
- To take an active role within the project team
- To be responsible for undertaking training an