Housing First Volunteer

Housing First Volunteer

Part Time 4 – 8 hours per week

Scottish Borders

(Various Locations in the Community)

Overview

Housing First is a model of social housing which provides high level support to individuals who have been identified as likely to have difficulty sustaining their own tenancy.

Housing First provides ordinary, settled housing as the first response for people with multiple and complex needs beyond Housing.

By sustaining a permanent tenancy individuals are in a better position to access community support, healthcare and social benefits.

Individuals are not required to be abstinent and the model focuses on a harm reduction approach.

This role sits alongside paid staff in the team and assists with the operation of  Housing First, providing emotional and practical support.

Why we need you and what activities are involved?

Volunteers can support our clients of Housing First in the local community and can work one-to-one or in groups. In addition, volunteers help with the smooth running of our service so that our clients receive the best possible care.

The range of roles will be communicated by the Housing First Employees and will most likely include:

• Welcome and befriend: be a friendly face and make people feel safe and supported through out their journey with Housing First.
• Learning and skills: support our clients to develop core skills that will help them on their journeys out of homelessness – with a focus on finance, digital inclusion, employment, mental and physical health and improving their education.
• Activities support: support clients’ health and wellbeing. This could include wellbeing walks, arts and crafts activities and gardening in our allotment.
• Supporting clients in the home: help clients decorate, furnish homes and settle into their local community, in conjunction with their Housing First Workers
• Office support: help the team with administration, communications, event planning and organisation so that they can deliver the best experience for staff and partners.

About Cyrenians

Cyrenians is over 50 years old. We began with the creation of an innovative community to meet the needs of a group of homeless people who had fallen through the cracks of whatever support was available at the time.  Our roots lie in responding to the injustice of homelessness. 

We have spent the last five decades journeying with people grappling with the causes and consequences of homelessness through building and nurturing of trusted relationships and engaging with social exclusion and inequality which has so often been at the root of their tough reality. We are values-led and relationship based; our core values are Compassion, Respect, Integrity and Innovation.

Cyrenians’ head office is based in Edinburgh, with smaller offices in other areas, including Falkirk and West Lothian. Cyrenians is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO), registered charity SC011052.