Recovery Sustainment Worker – Wolverhampton Homeless Integrated Recovery Service (WHIRS)

Role Description

Title: Recovery Sustainment Worker – Wolverhampton Homeless Integrated Recovery Service (WHIRS)

Reports To: Service Manager / Team Leader

Salary: £28,500 - £30,850

Hours: 35 hours per week

This is a three-year fixed term contract.

Mission and values

The Good Shepherd supports disadvantaged people in Wolverhampton to end homelessness, recover, build independence and move out of poverty.

We provide food, practical help, one-to-one and group support, accommodation support, training and pathways into employment.

Our core values are hospitality, compassion, and respect. We recognise each person’s dignity and potential for growth, and we deliver services in a person-centred way.

Role Summary

The Recovery Sustainment Worker will provide person-centred recovery and tenancy support within WHIRS, a partnership between Good Shepherd and Recovery Near You for people rough sleeping, recently housed or at risk of returning to rough sleeping.

The role helps people build recovery capital, sustain accommodation, reduce relapse and homelessness, access treatment and health support, and move safely into wider recovery and mainstream pathways.

Key Responsibilities

Active Engagement & Outreach

• Adopt an active engagement approach, taking responsibility for building trust and meaningful contact with people who may find it difficult to engage with services.

Meet people where they are, including Good Shepherd, street outreach, hostel and supported accommodation settings, community locations, primary care sites and partner venues.

Work alongside Good Shepherd, P3, Changing Lives, Recovery Near You, CWC homelessness services and other outreach partners to identify people who need sustained recovery and tenancy support.

• Respond flexibly to local intelligence and multi-agency requests to target support where it is most needed.

Recovery Planning & Sustainment Support

• Support individuals to build recovery capital by connecting them with LERO activities,

• Provide practical and emotional support that helps people maintain motivation, manage setbacks and continue moving forward on their recovery journey.

Work with peer mentors and people with lived experience to provide visible recovery, encouragement and practical support.

Tenancy Sustainment & Homelessness Prevention

Provide targeted support to people with recent or historical rough sleeping who are at risk of losing accommodation or returning to street activity.

Support people to sustain accommodation by addressing risks linked to relapse, isolation, poor health, anti-social behaviour, begging, rent issues, appointments and daily living skills.

Coordinate practical support with housing providers, homelessness services and partner agencies to reduce repeat homelessness and promote stability.

• Promote routines, safety planning, positive relationships and meaningful activity that reduce the likelihood of tenancy breakdown.

Treatment, Harm Reduction & Health Pathway Support

Work with clinical and recovery colleagues to support rapid access to treatment, including OST, alcohol support, psychosocial interventions and harm reduction activity.

Support people to attend appointments, engage with health checks, BBV testing, vaccinations, needle exchange, naloxone / overdose prevention and safer using advice where appropriate

Help individuals understand and follow treatment, recovery and health plans, supporting reengagement where appointments are missed or motivation drops

Transition & Continuity of Care

Provide ongoing support to individuals moving from intensive WHIRS support into the Recovery Near You pathway, mainstream services or other community-based recovery support

• Plan transitions carefully with the person and relevant partners so that support does not feel fragmented or withdrawn too quickly.

Maintain contact during key transition points, including move-on from rough sleeping, treatment stabilisation, accommodation changes, discharge planning and pathway handovers.

• Work with partner agencies to ensure clear communication, warm handovers and continuity of care.

Risk Management, Safeguarding & Trauma-Informed Practice

Complete and contribute to assessments, risk assessments, safety plans, recovery plans and risk management plans in line with Good Shepherd procedures.

Work in a trauma-informed and trauma-responsive way, recognising the impact of homelessness, addiction, poor health, exploitation, loss and repeated service exclusion.

Use professional curiosity, appropriate challenge, boundaries and reflective practice to support safe engagement.

Follow all safeguarding, lone working, confidentiality, data protection, health and safety, equality and professional boundary requirements.

Multi-Agency Working & Partnership Coordination

Work collaboratively with Good Shepherd, Recovery Near You, health partners, CWC homelessness teams, P3, Changing Lives, accommodation providers and wider community partners.

• Attend case discussions, operational meetings, multi-agency meetings and reviews as required.

Advocate for individuals and support access to services that contribute to treatment, recovery, health, housing stability and community integration.

• Share information appropriately and proportionately, ensuring consent, safeguarding and information governance requirements are followed.

Case Recording, Outcomes & Service Development

Maintain accurate, timely and confidential records of contact, interventions, risk, outcomes, referrals, appointments and case progression.

• Evidence outcomes linked to recovery, treatment engagement, accommodation sustainment, health, harm reduction, community connection and reduced repeat homelessness.

Contribute to monitoring, reports, case studies, audits, evaluation activity and learning reviews as required.

Support consultation and feedback activity so that service-user voice and lived experience inform the ongoing development of WHIRS.

General Duties

• Attend and contribute to team meetings, supervision, training, operational meetings and partnership meetings as required.

Work flexibly to support the needs of a community-based, multi-agency service working with people experiencing rough sleeping, addiction, mental health difficulties and complex needs.

• Deliver all duties in line with Good Shepherd values: hospitality, compassion and respect.

Carry out any other duties as reasonably requested by management, in keeping with the grade and nature of the post.

Whilst every effort has been made to explain the main duties and responsibilities of the post, each individual task undertaken may not be identified. Employees will be expected to comply with any reasonable request from a Manager to undertake work of a similar level that is not specified in this job description.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Good standard of general education, including English and Maths, or equivalent experience

Relevant qualification in health and social care, substance use, housing, homelessness, recovery support, community work or equivalent experience.

Desirable

Training in safeguarding, risk assessment, trauma-informed practice, mental health, substance use, harm reduction or tenancy sustainment.

Naloxone, overdose prevention, motivational interviewing, psychologically informed environments or strengths-based practice training.

Experience, Knowledge & Skills

Essential

Experience supporting people experiencing homelessness, rough sleeping, addiction, mental health difficulties or multiple and complex needs.

• Experience of building trusting relationships with people who may be reluctant to engage with services.

• Experience of completing assessments, support plans, risk assessments, safety plans, case notes and outcome records.

Understanding of recovery capital, relapse prevention, harm reduction, treatment pathways and person-centred recovery planning.

Understanding of tenancy sustainment, homelessness prevention and barriers faced by people moving on from rough sleeping.

• Ability to work collaboratively with housing, homelessness, health, treatment, outreach and community partners.

• Ability to communicate clearly and professionally with service users, colleagues, volunteers and external agencies.

Desirable

Experience working within rough sleeper outreach, recovery services, supported accommodation, Housing First, inclusion health or criminal justice settings.

Experience supporting people to access OST, alcohol support, detox, residential rehabilitation, mutual aid, peer support or LERO activity.

• Knowledge of local Wolverhampton homelessness, housing, health and recovery pathways.

• Experience contributing to service-user consultation, co-production, monitoring or evaluation activity.

Abilities and attributes

Essential

Strong communication, relationship-building and engagement skills.

• Ability to work non-judgementally with people experiencing homelessness, addiction, poor health and complex needs.

• Ability to maintain professional boundaries while providing persistent, compassionate and practical support.

• Ability to manage own caseload, prioritise risk and respond flexibly to changing needs.

• Ability to work safely in community, outreach, accommodation and partner settings.

• Ability to work collaboratively with internal teams, external partners and multi-disciplinary colleagues.

• Accurate record keeping and ability to evidence outcomes.

• Cultural awareness and commitment to equity, inclusion and accessibility.

• Adopt a person-centred, trauma-informed, strengths-based and recovery-focused approach.

Open minded and willing to develop professionally.

• Able to use MS Office and computerised databases for case recording, communication and monitoring.

Desirable

• Commitment to co-production and involving people with lived experience in service development.

• Confidence supporting groupwork, peer support, meaningful activity or community reintegration.

• Ability to contribute ideas for improving pathways, engagement approaches and tenancy sustainment responses.

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