Meet Nick: preparing and supporting clients for independent living

My name is Nick, I am a supported housing worker for Julian House. I manage 3 houses in the Salisbury area with 9 clients under my support umbrella.

The service provides support and accommodation for clients that have experienced homelessness and in many cases substance abuse issues.

I aim to prepare and support clients for independent living in their own accommodation within a two-year time frame.

 

How has previous experience helped with your current role?

When I left school, I spent 7 years as a Royal Marine Commando serving in 40 Commando based in Somerset.

This stands me in good stead in too many ways to mention; from a personal view it gives me a robust and resilient physical and mental attitude that is sometimes needed and drawn upon when challenging situations occur with my clients, some of which come from very troubled backgrounds.

I can also pass on a high degree of life skills such as help with organising personal admin and explaining the benefits of physical and mental fitness as well as getting routine into their lives.

I also have 8 years’ experience as a mortgage advisor with a corporate Estate Agency, much of my time in that role was sitting with home buying clients working out income and outgoings and checking affordability.

Many of these clients were first time buyers who lived at home with parents so had little experience in working out day to day living costs and I have found these skills very useful in helping Julian House clients figure out what it takes to live in a property on their own as well as navigating the ‘being on benefits versus being employed’ financial balancing act that often occurs.  

What would you say is one of the biggest challenges that your clients face?

Without any doubt, the biggest challenge my clients face is obtaining permanent affordable accommodation to enable them to move on from Julian House supported accommodation into their own independent living property and therefore move forward with their lives in so many ways i.e. jobs and relationships.

I would say this is a challenge now shared by the part of the Julian House service I work for as it is designed for providing medium not long-term support with a move on goal of around 2 years of client joining the service.

As we are all aware there is a chronic shortage of housing across the board, and this situation seems to be getting worse not better with a noticeable tightening of the criteria to obtain affordable move on accommodation.