Homeless Mental Health Navigator – Fixed Term for 12 Months
Closing date: September 21st, 2022
Job Title:
Homeless Mental Health Navigator
Responsible to:
Service Manager
Hours of Work:
37.5 hours per week, over 5 days Monday-Friday
Location:
Across different services, with travel to Liverpool/Sefton/Crewe/St Helens and Knowsley. Driving licence essential
Salary and benefits:
£25,555 per annum
- 33 days annual leave including bank holidays per annum
- Paid Medicash support
- Birthday bonus
- Charity day of your choice
- Well-being Hours
- Cycle To Work Scheme
- Refer a Friend Scheme
- Christmas Voucher
- Company Pension Scheme 4%
- Funded Training Opportunities
Main purpose of job
The post holder will be based across YMCA Homelessness Services, in Liverpool, Knowsley, Sefton, Crewe and St Helens providing a Mental Health Navigators service to enable people experiencing homelessness to have fair and equitable access to mental health and wellbeing support services.
The service will aim to develop a core model of effective, holistic mental health support for people experiencing homelessness which will be tested and evaluated with the aim for the service to be adapted for use in different locations/regions.
We ensure that every service we deliver is psychologically informed and underpinned by Cognitive Analytical Therapy offering a wide range of support and assistance that empowers and enables people to have a range of choices and create positive, sustainable futures for themselves.
Homeless Mental Health Navigators will be responsible for delivering brief interventions and identifying and signposting service users, across YMCA’s homelessness services, to appropriate services/agencies that may improve mental wellbeing.
The aim of the Homeless Mental Health Navigators Service is to increase the number of people experiencing homelessness who are able to access appropriate and timely mental health support.
This will involve identifying, on behalf of our service users, the most appropriate support for the individual and working to remove any barriers that they may face accessing services and advocating on their behalf if required to enable fair and equitable access.
All staff will be expected to undergo Cognitive Analytic Therapy Skills Training (CAT) this will provide a framework for understanding and working with individuals and colleagues in managing psychological and relational aspects of mental health, personality disorder and high-risk behaviours. Training will also be provided around Trauma Informed Care. These approaches will be used for planning and assessing effectiveness of a variety of interventions and risk management.
Hours of Work
The hours of work are 37.5 hours per week and may include some bank holidays.
Main Responsibilities
The Homeless Mental Health Navigators will be responsible for managing a small caseload of Service Users and will have to:
- Provide mental wellbeing assessments to people experiencing homelessness across YMCA services, using the WEMWBS assessment tool to understand what support is required for the individual and facilitate links with specialist services, both in the community and with the National Health Service
- Work collaboratively with service users to find appropriate services and activities that could promote mental wellbeing and develop a personalised and tailored Wellbeing Plan for each service users
- Promote local mental health services and activities, both statutory and non-statutory.
- Develop, update, and contribute to a resource library
- Identify any barriers that may prevent service users from accessing wellbeing service and find creative solutions to enable suitable access
- To chart each individual’s journey against their Wellbeing Plan and to carry out a final WEMWBS assessment to see distance travelled
- To monitor numbers of service users requiring crisis intervention/inappropriate A&E attendance
- To contribute positively to working relationships within the team, managers and other organisations
- Working collaboratively with the National Health Foundation Trust, Emergency Services, and 3rd Sector services
- Recording accurate detailed notes on a computer system.
Support Planning and risk assessing
- Support people to achieve their goals and targets as defined/ agreed within their Wellbeing Plans
- Manage, update and communicate service users risk assessments in line with YMCA Together/City Wide policy and procedure
- Ensure people shape their own support and take part in activities and access appropriate services.
Multi Agency Working
- Encourage and support to people with low levels of mental wellbeing ensuring all appropriate referrals are made
- Acting as nominated champion to maintain key partnerships and links.
Reporting/ Monitoring
- Monitor positive feedback from people and external agencies
- Ensure referrals to the service are processed thoroughly and within the correct time frames.
Health and Safety
- Liaise with all emergency services
- Ensure at all times the safety of yourself and others on the premises in which you work
- Conduct Health and Safety checks as required
- Report, log and communicate all incidents to the appropriate people
- Conduct welfare checks as specified during your shift
- Ensure adherence to YMCA Together visitor’s policy and procedure
- Adhere to all Risk Management Protocols.
Internal relationships
- Excellent communication with all YMCA Together staff
- Flexible and positive approach with all team members
- To be committed to learning and personal development both as an individual and as part of a team
- Sharing information and expertise with the team, covering absence, and working together to provide a high-quality service
- Attend team meetings as required.
External relationships
- Develop excellent working relationships with the partners and multi-disciplinary team and ensure successful delivery of outcomes
- Attend meetings with external partners as required to develop the service model and ensure all the KPI’s and outcomes of the service are met.
General
- Uphold and develop YMCA Together Equal Opportunities policy of anti-discrimination across all services
- Ensure compliance with Code of conduct, including professional boundaries and confidentiality at all times
- Deal promptly with all complaints
- Report all safeguarding incidents
- Familiarise yourself with and ensure compliance with all YMCA Together policies and procedures
- Prepare for and attend supervision and annual appraisal with your line manager taking direction as appropriate and contributing to the development of both yourself and the service.
Qualifications – Essential
- Educated to graduate level or significant relevant experience
- Qualification or significant relevant working experience in substance misuse, homelessness, mental health, housing or advice
- Driving licence
Qualifications – Desirable
Qualification in mental health/therapeutic approaches
Experience – Essential
- Experience of working with people with a history of substance misuse, domestic violence, mental health, homelessness or
- At least 2 years’ experience of working within a hostel or support service
- Experience of partnership working
- Experience of creative support planning and target setting
- Experience of support planning
- Experience of formulating risk assessments
Experience – Desirable
- Experience of working within a psychologically informed environment (PIE)
Knowledge – Essential
- A clear understanding and specific knowledge of complex needs support issues such as domestic violence. homelessness, mental health, substance misuse and offending
- Knowledge of Safeguarding protocols
- Knowledge of “WEMWBS” Assessment Tool
- Knowledge of health intervention and services for people with low levels of mental wellbeing
Knowledge – Desirable
- Knowledge of the Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT)
Skills – Essential
- Computer literate, competent in working with Microsoft word, outlook, windows
- Commitment to multi agency working and best practice
- Ability to develop and deliver a high-quality person-centered approach
- The ability to support service users who display challenging behaviour including verbal aggression Ability to prioritise and manage own workload
Skills – Desirable
- Analytical, data collation and reporting skills
Behaviour/ attributes – Essential
- Committed to improving the lives of people experiencing homelessness
- Committed to own personal development and CPD planning
- Creative and dynamic approach with the ability to “think outside of the box” when providing solutions
- Energetic, highly motivated with a reputation of being held in high regard by their peers
- Excellent interpersonal/ communication skills
- Excellent negotiation/ mediation skills
- A commitment to YMCA Together’s ethos, philosophy and SHREK values, Strength, Humility, Respect, Empathy and Kindness.
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If you would like to apply not directly through the website, please email your completed application form to recruitment@ymcatogether.org.uk