Every rough sleeper has a unique set of life experiences and support needs.
Within Guildford, we are ensuring our support services are appropriate, timely and accessible alongside our housing being suitable, affordable and available.
To do this, Guildford Borough Council (GBC) have been developing new and existing services, including the Indigo service (Mental health support), Substance Misuse Navigators, Rough Sleeper Hub, Partnership working (e.g. MEAM), joint commissioning opportunities and now the new Housing First service with Riverside.
We’re currently recruiting for a Housing First Worker to lead this service and to be responsible for coordinating and providing a person-centred, strength-based support service in line with Housing First principles, to create long term sustainable tenancies by increasing independence and maximising connectivity with the local community.
The Housing First service is a key part of GBC’s Homelessness Prevention Strategy 2018-2020. Housing First is a defined approach to ending homelessness, which provides individuals with a permanent offer of independent, stable housing and open-ended, wrap-around support, structured around 7 key principles:
- People have a right to a home
- Flexible support is provided for as long as is needed
- Housing and support are separated
- Individuals have choice and control
- An active engagement approach is used
- The service is based on people’s strengths, goals and aspirations
- Harm reduction approach is used
The service has been developed alongside Homeless Link to ensure it is in line with the principles, especially as it is using an outcomes-based commissioning approach (also known as payment-by-results) with the Riverside Impact Fund. The outcomes focus on the long term outcomes of tenancy sustainment.
- Do you want to be part of positively changing people’s lives?
- Are you committed to achieving positive outcomes for people experiencing homelessness?
- Do you have experience of directly working with people experiencing multiple disadvantages?
- Do you like the challenge of starting a new service with a new approach?
If yes, the Housing First Worker in Guildford may be the role for you.
We’re currently accepting applications to be at the forefront of this brand new service, working with Guildford’s great partners and complementing exciting and established services. This will ensure we provide life-changing support to those that need it.
If you’re interested, we’d love to hear from you. Please have a read through the job details, which include our contact details. You can also find out more about Housing First here.
We look forward to hearing from you.