Housing First Worker

Centrepoint is the UK's leading youth homelessness charity. Alongside our partners, we support over 16,000 young people every year and campaign to end youth homelessness by 2037.

We are looking to appoint an experienced Housing First Workers to maximize opportunities for young people to achieve positive outcomes that will enable them to live happy, healthy, and fulfilling lives during and after leaving Centrepoint’s services.

The Role

The Housing First model is a distinct service design for a specific group of people. These services are recognised internationally through the adherence to a core set of principles, which describe the ethos and ways of working. In England, the Housing First model follows the Principles for England and is highly effective at supporting people with high and complex needs.

Housing First for Youth Principles (HF4Y) have been adapted in recognition that the needs of young people are different to those of adults. At Centrepoint, we adhere to both sets of principles in our delivery of Housing First services to young people.

Responsibilities

• Proactively engage and support young people in line with Centrepoint’s psychologically informed environment (PIE) model.
• Adhere to the core principles set out by Housing First England and HF4Y in the delivery of support to YP.
•  Actively support YP to set up their home, including supporting them with obtaining white goods and furniture.
• Co-produce holistic, strengths-based support interventions and evidence-based risk management plans.
• Coach and actively support YP to enhance their independent living skills, access appropriate welfare benefits to maximise income and work collaboratively to improve their money management skills. Support YP to access and sustain education, employment and training opportunities that meet or exceed their aspirations.
• Provide YP with advice, guidance, and support with accessing range of community resources to promote their emotional and personal wellbeing.
• Support YP to develop positive support networks and healthy meaningful relationships.
• Advocate for YP and support them to maintain their tenure agreement, providing targeted interventions to prevent repeat homelessness and tenancy breakdown.
• Co-produce holistic, strengths and evidence-based risk management plans.
• Work collaboratively with a range of agencies to maintain the highest standards of safeguarding with choice and co-production as core elements of this practice.
• Work in partnership with a range of statutory and non-statutory services to support young people to keep themselves safe and maintain their tenure agreements.
• Attend safeguarding strategy meetings as appropriate and work in partnership with adult and children’s services to support the implementation of associated action plans.
• Comply with organisational requirements to protect personal and confidential information.
• Accurately record all contact with young people in a timely manner, ensuring YP’s records (on In-Form) are protected in line with the GDPR, kept up-to-date and written to a high standard with all relevant information and risk issues clearly highlighted.
• Share risk information with partner agencies in line with safeguarding and risk management procedures.
• Work in partnership with young people and develop positive and effective working relationships with key partner agencies (e.g. adult and children’s services, colleges, Domestic Abuse support, police, housing and health services) and internal teams across Centrepoint, to support YP to achieve sustainable outcomes.
• Work collaboratively, share information where appropriate and build supportive and collaborative relationships with others to achieve the best possible outcomes for YP.
• Take ownership of continuing professional development (CPD) and on the job learning, by engaging fully with Centrepoint’s training and development syllabus.
• Be open to learning and keeping knowledge and skill set current and up-to-date, sharing this with others as appropriate.
• Make time to prepare for and participate in effective supervision, appraisal, performance management and team reflective practice.

Requirements

• Experience of supporting multiple excluded or disadvantaged people to achieve their goals and aspirations.
• Knowledge and understanding of issues that lead or affect homelessness.
• Experience and understanding of the range of approaches appropriate to working with young people with complex needs.
• Experience of lone working in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience of liaising with and co-ordinating the work of a number of individuals and/or agencies to achieve effective outcomes safeguarding process, including attending strategy meetings and case conferences.
• Self-servicing in the use of IT, including using an online database to record work, emailing and using a smart phone for everyday communication.
• Excellent support planning, risk/ crisis management and goal-setting skills.

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• Excellent training and development opportunities
• 25 days of annual leave per year, rising to 27 days
• Employer pension contributions of 4%
• Private healthcare
• Access to Cycle 2 Work loan scheme
• Interest-free travel loan

Whether you're looking for a fresh start or wanting to advance your career with a new challenge, send us your CV and covering letter if you're passionate about making a positive impact.

If you are interested in this role, please click APPLY NOW!