Outreach Support Worker Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom Posted on 05/14/2024 Be the First to Apply - The Riverside Group

Description

Job Title: Outreach Support Worker
Contract Type: Permanent
Salary: £25, £27,112.48 is achieved after 18 months successful performance in the role)
Working Hours: Full time 37.5 hours per week
Working Pattern: Monday - Friday (rota of early shifts 7am-3pm and late shifts between 10am - 6pm)
Location: Guildford Host, Guildford

If you share our values and are excited about making a significant impact at Riverside, please ensure you attach a current CV and covering letter. At Riverside we recruit to potential not just on skills and experience, so we encourage you to apply even if you don't meet all the essential criteria on the job description.

The difference you will make as an Outreach Support Worker

You will be responsible for the delivery of a knowledgeable, creative, and highly personalised support service to people who are rough sleeping or at risk of rough sleeping. You will work flexibly, on your own and as part of the team to support each client, negotiating solutions to access suitable housing and offering opportunities to engage with a range of other services to promote good health and wellbeing and reduce the risk of future homelessness.

About you

We are looking for someone with.

• An understanding of the challenges, traumas and barriers faced by people at risk of homelessness.
• An understanding diverse customers group and vulnerable individual with complex needs.
• Team player with a caring, empathetic, flexible approach and a resilient, can-do attitude.

Why Riverside?

At Riverside, we're a housing association with a difference – enhancing the everyday for all our customers. For 90 years, we've been revitalising neighbourhoods and supporting communities by providing the homes they need to live full, fulfilling and rewarding lives.

We have a portfolio of over 75,000 affordable residential and retirement homes across the UK. Our work ranges from homelessness services to social care, employment support to retirement living, and we need the best people on board to help us.

Working with us, you'll enjoy:

• Competitive pay & generous pension
• 28 days holidays plus bank holidays
• Flexible working options available
• Investment in your learning, personal development and technology
• A wide range of benefits

Diversity and Inclusion at Riverside:

We are inclusive. At Riverside, we value diversity in all its forms. We foster a workplace where all individuals are respected, empowered, and heard. Our commitment to inclusivity drives our success and enriches the lives of our customers and colleagues.

Applications may close before the deadline, so please apply early to avoid disappointment.

Role Profile

• Provide a housing related support service to clients who are homeless and are in need of temporary accommodation.
• Attend meetings within the local partnership focussed on problem solving and information sharing.
• Feeding back relevant information to the team related to the support of our customers
• Ensuring the delivery of individual personalised support packages, reflective of different client needs, including culture and diversity issues.
• Undertake assertive outreach, visiting known sleep sites, searching for new rough sleepers in response to reports and carrying out regular early morning/late evening checks to maintain an overview of the current rough sleeping situation in Guildford.
• This involves walking up hills, flights of stairs and occasionally rough terrain.
• Take steps to form positive and supportive relationships with clients from first point of contact, adapting your approach as necessary to maintain good relations for the duration of their time with the service.
• Carry out assessments of need with sensitivity, asking questions to clarify understanding and listening carefully to find out what is important to your clients.
• Work with clients to agree next steps and develop a plan to support the client to find the accommodation and other help. The ability to have open and frank discussions with people and manage expectations is essential.
• Make referrals to a wide range of specialist services e.g. mental health, substance misuse, housing etc. to address the wider needs of the client and do what is needed to help clients maintain engagement. E.g. texting reminders, attending appointments, discussing concerns.
• Providing ongoing practical help, advice, information, support and encouragement to clients throughout their involvement with the service, keeping in daily contact (or as otherwise agreed) to update on progress.
• Ensure that you maintain respect and reflect individual's wishes, needs, culture, and diversity.
• Advocate appropriately and challenge effectively to obtain the best outcomes for clients
• Adhere to professional boundaries at all times.
• Promote the clients voice to be heard, encouraging feedback and providing opportunities for meaningful involvement in the development and improvement of the service.
• Participating in local partnership meetings focussed on information sharing and problem solving.
• Communicating efficiently and effectively with your clients, colleagues and partner agencies, adhering to established processes and following through on agreed actions to meet deadlines.
• Taking responsibility for your own learning and development. Participation in reflective practice, training, workshops etc. will be essential to developing a good understanding of 'best practice' and the ability to deliver the service as required.
• Supporting clients with day-to-day support and tenancy needs, liaising with landlords to find suitable accommodation.
• Ensuring that opportunities for education, training and employment opportunities are integral to the support service. The aim being to enable clients to develop the life skills to live as independently as possible.
• Providing practical support and information to clients when entering the service and throughout their involvement with the service, e.g., assisting clients in the completion of welfare benefit claims.
• Promote and encourage a high level of client involvement, consultation and communication.
• Maintaining an accurate and timely record of all activities including the maintenance of a support planning database.
• Working in line with health and safety, lone working procedures and safe guarding requirements to ensure the overall safety and security of the clients.
• To ensure intelligence is shared with appropriate agencies regarding rough sleepers and begging in the town centre.
• Facilitate the referral process into the service and assess potential new customers.
• Work in partnership with local authority, social and private rented housing to identify suitable accommodation for customers who are living in temporary accommodation or at risk of homelessness to set up and maintain a tenancy either virtual or face to face support.
• Supporting customers moving on from any homeless provider services in Guildford and assisting them to maintain their accommodation and set up links within their local community.
• Working in a psychologically informed and solution focussed way
• To understand how your job contributes to the overall purpose of the organisation and be accountable for delivering it in the most efficient way.
• To understand that your efforts will be client led and be accountable for positive and tangible outcomes.
• Record and update clear, factual, accurate, strengths based customer and statistical information on the local or appropriate digital platform.
• Carrying out housing support assessments, developing plan visiting people for vulnerable customers and ensuring they are linked into relevant support and health services as indicated by referral.
• Complementing our services in Guildford, this is important to understand Riverside is a nationally focused organisation and to be accountable for adhering to the agreed corporate policies and procedures.
• Working as part of a multi-disciplinary staff team and meeting the requirements flexible rota system, ensuring support is available to rough sleepers and Outreach activities.
• To support Guildford Borough Council strategies including homelessness, rough sleeping and winter provision strategies.
• Actively involved in team meetings and attending regular supervisions.
• Working with colleagues to ensure key performance indicators are being met.
• Working in line with company policies and procedures and the requirements of funders and stakeholders to ensure effective service delivery.
• Working in line with other key agencies, both in statutory and voluntary sectors.
• Ability to use appropriate IT systems and maintain professional and timely records
• Attending appropriate training and development opportunities as required.

Person specification

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Essential

• An understanding of the challenges, traumas and barriers faced by people at risk of homelessness.
• An understanding diverse customers group and vulnerable individual with complex needs.
• Team player with a caring, empathetic, flexible approach and a resilient, can-do attitude.
• Excellent time management with the ability to prioritise on a daily basis to do your work effectively.
• Effective communication skills
• The ability to demonstrate initiative and the confidence to make and act on decisions.
• Competent administrative and IT skills and ability to produce reports and other communications.

Desirable

• Knowledge of Psychological or Trauma Informed approaches to support.
• Experience of working in challenging environments with the ability to plan, prioritise and organise tasks to achieve results.
• Knowledge of current benefit systems particularly Universal Credit.
• Knowledge of processes involve in accessing Rent deposit accommodation and Private rent.
• Experience of working in a care and support environment.
• Clean driving licence and access to their own car

Training Required

• Trauma Informed Care - TIC
• Psychological Informed Environment -PIE
• Health & Safety induction
• Professional Boundaries
• Fire safety and Awareness
• Manual Handling
• Dealing with Conflict and Aggression
• Sharps
• Lone Working
• Willingness to participate and arrange training and development opportunities in person and online when opportunities arrive.