The course is aimed to help outreach teams to implement assertive outreach in practice, to deliver effective support interventions and achieve positive outcomes for individuals who are sleeping rough. It has been developed by Homeless Link with contributions from homelessness organisations and individuals with lived experience of street outreach.

Who is this course for?

This training will be open for all outreach workers, including both Local Authority and voluntary sector staff, as well as multi-agency leads and emergency accommodation providers. There are a number of location specific training sessions in Cardiff, Wrexham, Newport and Swansea. There are also 2 open sessions for staff in other areas.

What will you learn?

On completion of this course attendees will be able to:

1. Plan and carry out an outreach shift, including understanding how to undertake safety/risk assessment and welfare checks
2. Understand what is meant by and how to apply assertive and person-centred support
3. Understand why individuals might disengage or refuse an offer of support and different strategies that can be employed in response
4. Understand the link between trauma and homelessness
5. Describe common routes on to the streets
6. Use a range of communication techniques that support motivation
7. Be adaptable enough to be able to recognise and respond to individual needs and choices
8. Vary the service offer depending on the individual, by being aware of the range of accommodation options and specialist health and support provision available, that all contribute to ending rough sleeping
9. Adopt a persistent, case work approach that is focused on empowering staff to build safe relationships with strengths based assessments
10. Be aware of the role of outreach within a wider homelessness pathway to end someone’s homelessness.

Course duration

This is a one-day course that will run from 10am to 4.00pm.

Outreach training materials

To support this face-to-face training, attendees will receive supplementary outreach training materials to include:

1. Outreach training case studies
2. Briefing on the role of statutory and voluntary sector agencies in reviewing circumstances when someone sleeping rough has died
3. Briefing on Trauma Informed Care and Psychologically Informed Environments.
4. Guidance on how to use reflective practice in an organisation.
5. Webinar on Motivational Interviewing: introducing the principles and core skills
6. Webinar on positive approaches: looking at Psychologically and Trauma Informed practices, Strengths-Based approaches and Housing First and how they sit together