Support Worker

Support Worker - Housing and Homelessness (Sanctuary Emergency Accommodation)

Contract: Permanent - Full and part time opportunities available

Full time (40 hours per week) / Part time options available

Location: Watford

**Salary**: £22,000 per annum full time

Holiday: 33 days' holiday whole year and full-time equivalent, including Bank Holidays, pro rata to the hours worked

About our client

Started by two local women who felt compelled to help the people sleeping rough outside the town's central church, our client has been working with vulnerable people experiencing homelessness in Watford through providing housing and personalised support for over 30 years.

Having grown considerably in response to the changing needs of the town, they provide a range of accommodation options and support services to help people escape homelessness for good. Working primarily with people who have fallen between the cracks of social provision and care, they provide up to 52 people every night with a safe place to stay and over 500 people each year receive support through their intervention, recovery and prevention services. The people who come to our client are chefs or builders, teachers or office workers, sons, daughters or parents and something has gone wrong, something often outside of their control. They prioritise the people who would otherwise have limited options for housing and support such as people rough sleeping or those with no access to benefits. Additionally, they work with people recovering from homelessness to access and maintain pleasant, permanent homes.

Their provision includes active street outreach and drop-in services, emergency accommodation, three homes for people in recovery from alcohol and substance misuse, horticultural therapy, a tenancy sustainment team and an affordable housing scheme for those recovering from homelessness. Despite having grown, our client is still very much a local charity with an emphasis on building relationships and tailoring support to a person's needs.

About the role

Our Emergency Accommodation offers short-term accommodation (25 bedrooms), as well as support, meals and laundry facilities. Staff work with other services to provide a tailored package for each person while helping them towards moving into longer-term accommodation.

We are looking for a person who has a desire to help people who are currently experiencing homelessness. You may already have knowledge and understanding of homelessness, maybe through a previous job, as a volunteer or through your own lived experience.

You will be the sort of person who sees people experiencing rough sleeping or sofa surfing as people not just as 'rough sleepers' or 'service users'. You will be self-aware, compassionate, non-judgemental and have a strong degree of emotional intelligence. You will be motivated, great at talking to people, organised and willing to learn. You will be able to respond flexibly, confidently and professionally to any challenges that may arise.

Key responsibilities

Operational

*To provide face to face contact with service users and maintain the ethos and standards of the organisation in a professional manner
*To get alongside and build relationships with and among service users in order to advise, support, and encourage as appropriate
*To complete inductions and housing benefit for new service users
*To assist in the general running of the Sanctuary, including reception duties, answering the phone, ensuring the security of the building and occasional cleaning duties
*To complete Risk and Needs assessments and set and agree support plans with new service users
*To have a caseload of individual service users to key work and review agreed Personal Support and housing Plans
*To advise and make appropriate referrals in regards to support and move on accommodation
*To develop relationships and work closely with external agencies and Outreach Plus for ongoing support of service users

Additional

*Maintain a state of awareness of the wellbeing and welfare of Sanctuary service users, enabling difficult and potentially confrontational situations to be averted, or quickly resolved
*Ensure that Sanctuary rules are adhered to
*Ensure daily and weekly tasks are carried out as specified and additional cleaning tasks as required
*Issue warnings/exclusions when necessary and inform management
*Administer drug and alcohol tests as necessary
*Collect and accurately record Service Charge contributions and the receipt/issue of resident's money
*Use Petty Cash to purchase any items required and complete necessary paper work
*To induct and supervise volunteers and service users in cooking evening meals and cooking the meal in the absence of volunteers
*Deal with enquiries and referrals to our 0300 help-line
*Complete service users Housing Benefit and induction forms
*Maintain records and statistics as required
*Administer First Aid if n