Carolin Hess is a PhD scholar within the NIHR Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce who has been awarded Doctoral funding from the NIHR College for Social Care Analysis. She stories from a latest webinar, the most recent within the Unit’s Homelessness series. (920 phrases)
The webinar, attended by over 200 folks, introduced rising findings from an revolutionary research ‘Addressing Homelessness in Social Work Education’, performed by Jess Harris and Karl Mason and funded by the Nationwide Institute for Well being and Care Analysis (NIHR) College for Social Care Analysis (SSCR).
The research delved deeper into a facet of a earlier research on Safeguarding responses to homelessness and self-neglect, which examined why social employees, together with these in safeguarding roles, could also be inadequately ready for working with folks experiencing homelessness. The research can be linked to a previous webinar on a research on the ‘Homelessness Social Employee Function’ which explored the experiences and assist wants of specialist homelessness social employees, in addition to the systemic boundaries they face. This earlier webinar revealed that many social employees reported restricted publicity to homelessness-related matters throughout their qualifying programs and uncertainty about their function on this space.
Karl shared findings derived from their call for evidence from schooling suppliers relating to the inclusion of homelessness within the social work curriculum, and insights obtained by means of interviews with college students, course leads and placement suppliers. Whereas homelessness traditionally has been thought-about a much less distinguished side of social worker’s role outdoors of specialist providers, latest components like austerity measures, a housing disaster and lack of specialist provision has contributed to a broader vary of care and assist wants amongst people who find themselves experiencing homelessness.
Whereas a key message of the presentation was that homelessness ought to now not be considered as ‘area of interest’, the findings revealed that it nonetheless receives restricted protection in social work schooling, principally because of an already packed curriculum, lack of educating experience or supplies, and boundaries to providing placements in homelessness organisations. Whereas the presentation supplied examples of excellent apply, it additionally highlighted that many college students really feel ill-informed about homelessness-related definitions, laws, and felt an expectation of finishing statutory reasonably than non-statutory placements to satisfy the occupation’s expectations and their very own profession choices.
Given the prevalence of housing insecurity in varied social work specialisms comparable to little one and household welfare, incapacity, and psychological well being, there’s a urgent must combine homelessness matters into the social work curriculum. This sentiment was echoed by the interviewed college students, who hoped that social work schooling would incorporate a wider subject of apply into their curriculum. College students who accomplished a placement within the homelessness sector reported optimistic experiences and that, whereas generally irritating and difficult, the expertise helped them to recognise biases and assumptions, find out about complicated insurance policies and achieve insights into the difficulties confronted by folks experiencing homelessness and co-morbidities.
Invited discussants shared their responses to the rising findings. Steph Grant, a Traumatic Mind Harm Survivor main a analysis group on brain injury and homelessness, highlighted the affect of early mind accidents on the a number of exclusions and co-morbidities, and the necessity for college students to look past “why individuals are on the streets”. Harrshita Murarka, a newly certified social employee, who accomplished her second placement in a homelessness setting, emphasised that it had deepened her understanding of homelessness and housing insurance policies, which she continues to use in her present function inside kids’s providers. Ruth Allen, BASW, Rebecca Mulvaney, Social Work England, and Lyn Romeo, Chief Social Employee for Adults, all inspired schooling suppliers to think about how they put together future social work practitioners on this topic. They hoped that social work schooling might increase consciousness of working with folks going through a number of disadvantages and desires, and problem the political context they’re working in, whereas acknowledging the boundaries of an already busy curriculum.
Within the wider dialogue that adopted, individuals shared their very own experiences and reflections on the subject. They recognised a range of care wants amongst people who find themselves homeless, a lot of whom have mind accidents, psychological well being issues, antagonistic childhood experiences and different types of trauma. Many of those underlying situations and experiences usually are not instantly obvious (‘hidden’) and are generally misinterpreted and dismissed as ‘way of life decisions’. This will end in folks experiencing multiple exclusion homelessness being overlooked in safeguarding assessments and risk management meetings. The consensus was that social work schooling can function an vital platform to start out the dialog and handle a number of the complexities of the present system. Widening the provision of scholar placements in homelessness settings has the potential to allow and sensitise college students to grow to be extra conscious of the assorted intersecting components that individuals face and should equip them to supply simpler and coordinated assist.
In occasions of restricted public sources, it turns into extra essential for well being, social care, housing and third sector service suppliers to work collectively and enhance wrap-around assist for people who find themselves most excluded. The pandemic and present political developments have pushed organisations to determine stronger connections and work collectively in offering assist. This partnership-focused strategy would be the central subject in the upcoming webinar investigating the wrap-around response to assist people going through extreme and a number of drawback in Nottingham.
Additional discussions of strengthening the function of grownup social look after folks experiencing homelessness are already underway, with resources lately shared that intention to assist Administrators of Grownup Social Companies and their groups. Discussants additionally prompt a proposal for a homelessness Special Interest Group in social work.
As mentioned within the earlier webinar, social employees working in specialised homelessness roles continuously report feeling remoted, with an absence of peer assist. To handle this, Ellie Atkins, supported by HSCWRU, is within the course of of building a “motion for change and peer assist” and the primary assembly of a national peer Network for social workers specialising in homelessness is scheduled for 4 October 2023. Please contact Ellie Atkins (ellie.atkins@manchster.gov.uk) for particulars.
Carolin Hess is a PhD scholar on the NIHR Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce, King’s Faculty London.
