Specialist Housing Support Worker
Fixed Term - Ending March 2025 but with high likelihood of continuing work of this nature
Full Time

Stonepillow provide services for people who are experiencing homelessness and many leading complex lifestyles due to their addictions, or physical and mental health support requirements.

We are looking to recruit two new positions to provide intensive support to enable such clients to access the most appropriate accommodation to relieve their homelessness. These Specialist Support Worker roles require case management supervision of who have high level multiple needs and risks associated with their lifestyles.

Summary of Roles

Post One – this role will focus on supporting people who are affected, or at high risk of, cognitive impairment due to their chronic alcohol dependencies. The role will focus on sourcing their best and most appropriate housing options which best enable them to live life to their full potential. In addition, with a wraparound support/care provided, the post will provide a holistic package. This worker will also become part of a programme being developed in West Sussex for the Alcohol Related Brain Damage (ARBD) pathway.

Post Two - this role will work alongside the A&E department and hospitals to help develop an improved pathway back into housing for those patients who have no fixed address and are at risk of rough sleeping on discharge from hospital or A&E. The focus is on those who have multiple and complex needs which include addictions and who are frequent attenders at urgent care.

The Specialist Housing Support Workers will have a focused case load with the aim to provide stable accommodation. It builds on the housing first model which is already in place within Stonepillow, to find suitable and appropriate long-term housing solutions. ‘Specialist Housing Support’ will ensure a flexibility in approach and a positive and empowering support that will be trauma-informed with the goal to ensuring choice and control to the client.

These roles will be part of the Integrated Homelessness and Mental Health team. You will be given substantial support from our own team and there will be close working with other outreach and residential services teams in Chichester and Arun.

We are looking for candidates who have a background in support and who have an interest in improving people’s health and wellbeing and who enjoy working as part of a team as well as independently. The successful candidates will have good verbal and written communication skills with the ability to motivate, engage and inspire and be able to deal with challenging situations in a calm and effect manner.

In order to be successful in this role:

• Experience or deep interest of supporting multiple disadvantage
• Excellent ability to communicate with a wide range of people to develop and form constructive relationships
• Ability to understand, empathise and uphold Stonepillow’s aims and policies
• Ability to advocate on behalf of clients to other professionals
• Excellent crisis management skills, including the ability to cope in stressful situations, able to apply de-escalating techniques
• Good computer literacy skills to use our case management database
• Ability to work independently and within a team and prioritise workload effectively.

The benefits of working at Stonepillow:

• Actively supporting those in need in your local community
• Healthcare and wellbeing support including access to in-app virtual appointments with NHS registered GPs and access to a comprehensive Employee Assistance programme with face-to-face counselling
• A medical cashback scheme and retail discounts
• Stakeholder pension, employer contribution of 5%
• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays

A bit about us:

Stonepillow support and empower homeless and vulnerable people with compassion and commitment to achieve sustainable independence and wellbeing and make positive changes in their lives, using a psychologically informed environment and strength-based approach to create holistic packages of support, including building pathways with clients with external partners in the community.

Stonepillow is committed to safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults.  All post holders are subject to a satisfactory enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

• Please view the Specialist housing support workers JD document