Housing Support Practitioner

Job Title: Housing Support Practitioner

Service: South West Visiting Housing Support Service

Reporting to: Senior Practitioner

Closing date: Friday 2nd July 2021

Terms & Conditions:

• £24,000 per annum
• Full-time, 35 hours per week
• 35 days holiday rising to 40 on completion of 5 years' service
• Based in the City of Edinburgh
• Permanent position

Four Square Scotland is an Edinburgh charity working for more than 40 years to prevent homelessness and promote inclusion. We provide services directly to people who are homeless, or who are at risk of homelessness to overcome any barriers they may face in creating a stable life for themselves in their community. At the core of Four Square are the values on which the organisation is based. These are equally applied to the people we support, our colleagues and our partners and are: Integrity; Excellence; Dignity; Support.

Alongside our support services we have social enterprises, which provide independent income for our charity as well as volunteering and training opportunities for those who use our services.

Following a restructure and reimagination of how we will deliver housing support to people in the South West of Edinburgh we are looking for qualified, experienced, motivated people with a can-do attitude and a commitment to using evidence based approaches to support people to join our team.

The Role:

The role of Housing Support Practitioner in our Housing Support Service is vital to help us achieve our aim of ensuring everyone has a home, a place in their community and a network of positive relationships and interests that support them to build the life they want. We work from a strength based and trauma informed approach to help people realise their goals, connect with their communities and enjoy life.

This service is commissioned by the City of Edinburgh Council in the South West of Edinburgh with the aim of preventing homelessness or to move on from homelessness. The role of Housing Support Practitioners will be to complete a holistic assessment with the person that produces a collaborative support plan with the aim to help people recognise their strengths which will build their confidence, self-efficacy, resilience, and motivation. Practitioners will use the Homelessness Star to develop this collaborative support plan that, alongside identifying areas of strength, addresses other areas of their lives people want to improve or change. We offer in-house training to all our staff on the use of the tool.

Tasks flowing from the assessment and reviews may include helping people:

• Maximise income and reduce debt;
• Develop healthier coping skills when times are stressful;
• Develop problem solving skills so their need for support services in the future may be reduced and they know who to contact for certain things;
• Develop interpersonal skills and be supported to access social and supportive networks;
• Develop employability skills and access education, training and employment;
• Access health services or longer-term care services;
• Deal with housing issues such as arrears or repossessions that may put them at risk of future homelessness;
• Support people to transition from temporary accommodation to their own home;
• Help people to manage legal issues;
• Support people to make a house a home;
• Help people to become as independent as possible, making referrals to professionals and agencies who can support them longer term;
• Ensuring people feel safe and secure in their home and community and act where they don’t;
• Advocate on behalf of people in a professional manner;
• Manage safeguarding concerns reporting to the appropriate authorities and recording clearly and succinctly actions and follow up;
• Complete grant applications and benefit forms with the person so they can do this themselves in the future is possible.

This list is not exhaustive and Housing Support Practitioners shall judge if they are the best person to support people in certain areas, where they are not they will help the person find the support they need.

The role of Housing Support Practitioner will require a degree of flexibility and contracts are Monday to Sunday working between 8am and 10pm to meet the needs of people they support.

If your values, work experience and commitment to working from a strengths based perspective align with ours then we would love to hear from you.

We do not accept CV’s, please complete the application form fully with reference to the job description.

How to apply: 

The role will require a degree of flexibility and contracts are Monday to Sunday working between 8am and 10pm to meet the needs of people they support.  

If your values, work experience and commitment to working from a strengths based perspective align with ours then we would love to hear from you. 

We do not accept CV’s, please complete the application form fully with reference to the job description. 

Please contact us if you would like a full job description, person specification and application form emailed to you. Applications should be returned to tracys@foursquare.org.uk by the 2nd July 2021.