Homeless Health Peer Advocate - HHPA

Homeless Health Peer Advocate, Dublin 

28 Hours, 4 days per week (*flexible)
12 Month Fixed Term Contract (with possibility of extension)
€25,455.72 per annum 

DESCRIPTION:  
DEPAUL’S VISION is of a society in which everyone has a place to call home and a stake in their community.  
DEPAUL’S MISSION is to end homelessness and change the lives of those affected by it.  
We believe that we cannot achieve our vision & mission without the active involvement of volunteers in our work.  
Working with Depaul will give you an opportunity to work with an organisation that underpins its work in the following values  

DEPAUL’S VALUES:  

• We celebrate the potential in people


• We put our words into action


• We aim to take a wider role in civil society


• We believe in rights and responsibilities 

Working with Depaul will give you a unique opportunity to experience our work and what a values-led organisation means. As a staff member you will experience first-hand our approach to the issue of homelessness and how we work with and value those affected by it.  Our service users come from all backgrounds and may have a range of complex needs. This may include mental health, domestic violence, convictions, bereavement, unemployment, alcohol and addictions issues etc.  

OVERVIEW:  
St James’s Hospital has developed the first hospital-based Inclusion Health Service in the world. This service provides inpatient and outpatient liaison for homeless adults. The Depaul Homeless Health Peer Advocacy programme will work closely with the Inclusion Health teams, homeless services and other health care professionals. The aim of this service is  to reduce unplanned use of health services, missed appointments and to re-engage and retain individuals in specialist care services. The Homeless Health Peer Advocacy programme works directly with homeless services; such as hostels to support vulnerable individuals to access health care. 

ROLE DESCRIPTION:  
 
We are looking for an individual who has a lived experienced homelessness to join our team. The Peer Advocates accompany service users to and from health appointments and help people better understand their health needs and receive appropriate support. We work to improve service users' confidence in using health services and increase their ability to access healthcare independently. 
 
The Homeless Health Peer Advocates will attend health care appointments with service users, supporting in navigating the health care system and advocating on behalf of the service users to ensure they get the treatment they need. The HHPA service is open to all which will involve the Peer Advocates supporting people with co- morbidities such as drug/alcohol addiction, complex mental health needs, domestic and family violence, cognitive impairments, and people with forensic history. 

PAID PEER ADVOCATE’S MAIN TASKS  

• Work alongside different referring agencies such as, Inclusion health teams, Homeless service and medical services.


• Participate in assessing new referrals referred into the service with the line manager.


• Accompany and advocate for people at health care appointments. This may be a variety of appointments, including doctors, hospital, dental, mental health and many more.


• Provide clear effective handovers to service user’s key workers after appointment support.


• Using a check in/check out system with the line manager before and after appointments.


• Help health care providers to make contact with service users and notify them of their appointments.


• Focus on building the skills and confidence to enable service users to continue accessing health services independently.


• Facilitate health promotion groups


• Engage in lived experiences groups and support the development of Depaul's Lived experience group.


• Engage in supporting different research as appropriate and supporting with assessing service users health outcomes through the questionnaires.


• Attend different homeless services highlighting the HHPA service to staff and service users.
  To attend team meetings and any training organised by line Manager which has been identified as beneficial for your progression in the role.


• To adhere to all Depaul policies and local procedures.


• To adhere fully to Organisational Risk Management Procedures, especially in relation to assessing risk and to lone working.


• To ensure that all service users information is recorded and stored as required (OTIS database/other records) and in line with Data Protection regulations and Depaul’s Confidentiality Policy.


• To respect the service users' right to confidentiality in our relationship with them as per the Depaul Confidentiality policy and code of conduct.


• To promote respect, diversity and equal opportunities.


• To attend supervision sessions with Line Manager to discuss your professional development. 


• The above list is not exhaustive; additional areas of responsibility may be added over time.  

SKILLS OF A PEER ADVOCATE
Have a lived experience of homelessness. 
Be willing to travel to different locations, this may involve some occasional travel to different counties in Ireland. 
Good time management skills. 
Have good written and verbal communication skills. 
Be secure in recovery if relevant. 
Basic IT skills. 

QUALITIES OF A PEER ADVOCATE:  
Be committed and reliable. 
Understand the importance of boundaries and be comfortable to ask for support when needed. 
Be keen to learn new skills. 
Be a good listener who is interested in others and what they have to offer. 
Be confident to speak about their own experiences. 
Treat others in a non-judgemental way and with respect. 
Be comfortable with working alone with service users and to be aware of any risks should they arise.

*At Depaul Ireland, we understand the importance of flexibility. While the role involves working 28 hours over 4 days, we are happy to consider individual requirements.  

You will have to undergo garda vetting if successful in your application.  

If you have any queries you can contact - Carina Corcoran  0868168976  

WHY WORK FOR US?

Depaul is a cross border charity supporting some of the most marginalised individuals, couples and families experiencing homelessness. Our mission is to end homelessness and change the lives of those affected by it. Would you like to help us to meet our mission?

We are a values led organisation and aim, at all times, to live and breathe these values in our everyday work. Our values are based on four key principles:
• We celebrate the potential of people
• We put our words into action
• We aim to take a wider role in civil society
• We believe in rights and responsibilities

Click Here to Review our Privacy Notice for Employees in ROI

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES:
Depaul strives to create a diverse and inclusive programme and is committed to ensuring equality of access to our opportunities and equality of treatment for our staff in all our policies and practices. We welcome applications from individuals aged 18 and over from a diverse range of backgrounds.

If you choose to work for Depaul we offer:

Our Benefits

• Annual Leave Up to 3 years' service: 25 days per year
  3 years' up to 5 years' service: 27 days per year
  Over 5 years' service: 30 working days per year (Exclusive of bank and statutory holidays)
  10 public holidays each year with Good Friday as discretionary day. Day off and day pay for Christmas Day,
  St.Stephen's Day, and New Year's Day worked for shift workers.
  Non-Shift Workers: Paid day off on public holidays.
  Shift Workers: Expected to work on public holidays; receive an additional day of annual leave in lieu.
  Non-Rostered Employees: May be entitled to one-fifth of the normal weekly rate of remuneration for the public holiday.


• Pension Matched by the employer


• Health Assistance Each staff member gets access to a health cash plan so you can claim money back, up to set limits, on a number of treatments. This includes dental, optical, acupuncture and many more. Your children under 16 are also included on the plan.


• Life Assurance Four times salary


• Maternity /Adoptive Leave 18 weeks full pay


• Paternity Leave 2 weeks full pay


• Sick Leave Entitlement to sick pay starting from day 1 with level of entitlement increasing with length of service (subject to policy terms)


• Employee Assistance Program EAP is a confidential counselling service that provides support to company employees and their family. It is available 24/7, 365 days a year covering; Counselling, legal advice, financial information, career guidance, life coaching, mediation, health information, cancer support, autism support, infertility and pregnancy loss, elder care support, parent coaching and international employee support.


• Learning and Development Depaul’s Vision, Mission and Values course, this involves travel to meet the Depaul International family.


• Emerging Leaders, supporting workers that would like to develop their leadership skills and to progress to a management role.


• Online learning resources within Depaul’s award nominated online learning platform, Moodle. Mandatory training including, MAPA, Health and Safety, Child Protection, Fire Safety, and First Aid