Mental Health and Housing Coordinator

Support Worker

We have an exciting opportunity for a Support Worker to play a vital role in providing support at our Route One project.

Position: Support Worker (Internal Title: Mental Health and Housing Coordinator)

Location: Brighton and Hove

Salary: £27,526

Hours: 37 hours per week. Monday to Friday. Shifts are mixed 8am to 4pm and 12pm to 8pm.

Contract: Permanent

Closing Date: Monday 27th October

Interview Date: Tuesday 4th November

About Route One:

Route One is part of the Mental Health Accommodation Pathway supporting 24 clients across Brighton and Hove. Our three properties consist of self-contained and shared with each client supported by a named keyworker who will work closely with them to pursue short term goals, maintain wellbeing and work towards a move to lower supported accommodation at the end of their tenancy. Our team have a broad range of skills and work closely to support one another. We provide monthly clinical supervision for the team, individual supervision to support personal wellbeing and hold fortnightly team meetings which include reflective practice.

About the role:

As a Support Worker you will be working for a people-led organisation whose mission and values is to inspire change across Sussex.

You will provide support to 24 clients with mental health and complex support needs, across 3 residential properties in Brighton and Hove. To ensure that tenancies are sustained, and a range of needs are met, such as access to mental health / addiction and health services, assistance with welfare benefits, budgeting, life skills, general coaching support, promoting health, independence, and participation in the wider community. To ensure that clients move on to more independent accommodation, within agreed timeframes.

The role of the Support Worker is to provide housing-related and flexible tailored support to people with mental health and complex support needs. They will be responsible for a caseload of clients, and provide a range of 1:1 and group-work support; this will include supporting clients to:

• Access mental health/addiction/health services.
• Ensure income maximization, including support to obtain work, learning, and voluntary opportunities.
• Understand financial planning, including budgeting, saving, paying utilities, paying rent.
• Prepare to move on to independent living, including life-skills, arrears prevention and behaviour change.
• Improve their mental health and wellbeing, including the use of recovery-focused support and safety tools.
• Maintain their accommodation, including health, safety, and hygiene support.

The role will also provide input to a Supported Tenancies pilot scheme - a partnership between Sussex partnership NHS Foundation Truth and Registered Providers of Social Housing or Registered Charities - including key working tenants where required.

Key Responsibilities:

• To provide intensive and flexible levels of group and 1:1 support to clients with mental health, substance use and housing support needs.
• To assess the needs of clients upon referral and to develop a relationship involving coaching, low-key counselling, practical support, and signposting to other agencies where appropriate.
• To work alongside Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in the provision of coordinated, consistent and structured support packages.
• To assist with coordinating referrals, including liaison with referral agencies, and conducting multi-agency referral assessments.
• To develop an effective network of communication with relevant services/agencies in the community.

Person Specification:

To be successful in the role of Support Worker you will need to have great communication skills and be committed to the values of BHT Sussex. Some of the key skills and experience you will need to bring with you include:

• Significant experience of working with clients living in supported accommodation with mental health and/or substance misuse issues.
• Experience of working in partnership with a range of agencies including voluntary and statutory sector.
• Understanding of housing management / tenancy issues, including health and safety checks, and license agreements.
• Ability to participate in and positively contribute to teamwork.
• Ability to plan own work, work independently, , effectively prioritise with conflicting demands, , and problem solve.

In return:

In recognition of our commitment to staff, BHT Sussex has been awarded Gold Accreditation from Investors in People. We are also signed up to the Disability Confident employer scheme and have made the Mental Health at Work commitment.

You will also receive a fantastic benefits package including:

• 5.5% stakeholder pension scheme and life assurance scheme
• Medical cash plan with Medicash
• Access to BHT Learning & Development platform
• Free and confidential employee assistance helpline for both personal and work-related concerns
• Cycle-to-work scheme
• Free new starter 28-day Network Saver Brighton bus pass
• Generous holiday allowance starting at 27 days per annum pro rata, rising 1 day for each year of service to a maximum of 32 days pro rata
• The opportunity to participate in well-being and fundraising activities throughout the year

BHT Sussex is an equal opportunities employer using a fair and open recruitment process that fully complies with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010. We are committed to encouraging equality, equity, inclusion, and diversity within the workplace. As an employer we are committed to promoting and supporting our people's social, physical and psychological health at work. Please let us know if you require any special arrangements or reasonable adjustments if called for interview. BHT Sussex welcomes applications from individuals with lived experience.

BHT Sussex reserves the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applicants for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

An Enhanced with Adults DBS Check (Disclosure and Barring Service) is required on all successful applicants as a condition of employment for this post.