Session 3. Case Studies of Effective Approaches (1)

Engaging and involving residents - Anthony McCool, Trident Housing Association

Engaging and Involving Vulnerable People in Tackling Worklessness

• A Housing Association in transition towards becoming a modern Social Business

• Operate across the Midlands• Over 3,000 units of accommodation – predominately for

single people of whom 2/3’s are unemployed• Specialise in services and housing to vulnerable people

from BME communities, those with disabilities and those who are socially and economically disengaged

Who We Are

The Characteristics of Worklessness in the Midlands

• Localised and Entrenched • Long term benefit dependence• Low skills correlation• Hard to reach communities• High unemployment amongst BME and new emerging

communities• Labour market changes - harder for low skilled to find

sustainable work• Low paid employment v. Welfare benefits

What Our Clients and Staff Told Us

• High percentage of vulnerable people want to work but felt alienated and drifting without a real purpose in life

• Lacking a sense of responsibility and involvement• No real understanding of how they could carve out a positive

role in life• Struggling to find worthwhile work, if indeed they were looking

for work at all• Entrapped on social benefits, developing mental health

difficulties and experiencing a cycle of homelessness• Society was leaving vulnerable people behind• For many of them they feel on the margins of society, living hand

to mouth on welfare, neglected and drifting from despair to irresponsibility

Our Initial Strategy to Create a Change

• Creating a partnership approach building on a person centred model in care and support services

• Creating reference points and instilling hope • Equipping vulnerable people to:

- develop the right social skills- creating a sense of purpose and responsibility- promoting self confidence - supporting people to seize an opportunity and make the most of it- creating the environment to become engaged and valued in the wider community

• Addressing the personal blocks to work

Service Structure

SERVICES TO THOSE WITH A VULNERABILITY

First Tier Service• Initial contact• Specialist assessment• Support planning in partnership• Trust building• Allocation to the most beneficial serviceThird Tier Service

Specialist services• Psychology and counselling service• Debt counselling• Credit Unions• Educational Learning• Employability Service Training - volunteering - work - based employment• Business Enterprise Services

Second Tier Service• Emotional support• Life skill training• Welfare service• Care & Support Service • Sustaining tenancy services

Governance Tier• Board• Care & Support Committee• Strategic Team• Service Team• Project Advisory Groups• Keyworking Groups

Changing the Way We Work

• A more personalised and responsive approach to meeting the needs and aspirations of those who access our services

• Creating a binding Governance structure to ensure customers influenced all services – getting closer to our customers

• Recruiting the right staff with the right values and aptitude to create trusting and professional relationships with people

• Restructuring the company so that we target our resources where and how our customers need and want us to support them achieving their goals

• Creating partnerships, consortiums, joint ventures with all who work with us or provide services to us

• Turning rhetoric into action – leading by example

Our Worklessness ProjectsObjectives /Funding/Results

• Jericho Joint Venture Company – Social Enterprise- Training and employment

- Tenant participation and satisfaction - Value for money - Quality - EnvironmentFunding - Grants - Winning work Tenders with Authorities etc Results - Growing workload - Increased groundwork apprenticeships

Our Worklessness ProjectsObjectives/Funding/Results

• Volunteering into Work - Creating opportunities for people out of the employment market to learn work based skills in Administration/ Care and Support

Funding – Placement Grants /Trident investmentResults – 35 Volunteers on the 12 month

programme

Our Worklessness ProjectsObjectives/Funding/Results

• Media and PR Venture- Social Enterprise - specialised training into employment – accredited - business learning on running an enterprise

Funding - various grants / Foyer Federation and Virgin Media

Results - 38 Young people engaged – 8 moved on to university course - 14 onto further Media or PR course

Our Worklessness ProjectsObjectives/Funding/Results

• Perrott’s Folly Community Interest Company- Promote training and employment for young people and others through leisure and tourism. Accredited courses through local colleges and schools

Funding- Grants / revenue streams from running a tourist centre / supporting people funding to enable staff to work with trainees

Our Worklessness ProjectsObjectives/Funding/Results

• Employability programme for vulnerable people into work- Tailored with real employment opportunities within the company. Creating the right environment where individuals who access our services can have a route to employment

Funding - Practice placement income - Training budget / Trident investment

Results - 14 Service users currently employed – 38 have experienced the programme in two years

Our Worklessness Projects (2)

• Working with Contractors- Organisation works with contractors to ensure that they in partnership with us create employment and training opportunities for our clients. Currently 5 service users on apprenticeships

• Future ventures in the pipeline- Agency staff company- Shops- Enterprise centre joint venture with a range of small BME organisations

Our Learning Experience

• Understand the psychological needs and tackle these• The strategy has to be owned by the whole company• The worklessness focus must be embedded as the core

business• Engage and commit to real partnership approaches with

customers, communities, contractors, staff and funders – it is essential

• Target the right people – create the momentum• Dedicate resources to enable initiatives to succeed – do

not add on to already busy agendas

Our Learning Experiences (2)

• Lead by example – create real opportunities for the people you serve

• Tell people what you are doing – success breeds success

• Use your funding creatively to achieve the outcomes funders want

• Take risks – create an environment where innovation is normal

Challenges

• High rents and high service charges• Attitudes of staff and customers• Funding

- Lack of long term security in funding for sustainability

- Lack of investment- Bureaucratic burdens as well as overt monitoring- Finding a way through the minefield of funding routes- Lack of flexibility

• Breaking the dependency cycle• Making the transition to work

Conclusion

• Responding to the challenge posed by worklessness involves a range of creative solutions which offer a flexible and personalised approach that brings housing, training and employment support together

• It should be everyone's agenda and working in partnership with others, real opportunities no matter how small will begin to make a difference in communities and among individuals who have struggled to engage in the work place