A smart move

Do you have experience as a homeless person or a social housing tenant? If so, you could be in demand. More and more housing organisations and homelessness charities are starting to employ their own service users.

Terry Smith should know. Two years ago he was homeless and sleeping on park benches, then a visit to a Novas Group homeless hostel in London changed everything. He was invited to apply for a job as a tenants’ participation officer at Arlington House, a 339-bed hostel run by Novas, and he got it. Smith jumped at the chance to take the job – which involves making sure the needs of the hostel’s residents are met – and to earn more than £21,000 a year. “Who better to do this job than a former resident? I have gone from feeling that my luck had run out, to feeling that I’m on a truly lucky path,” says Smith.

Novas employs former service users as senior housing officers. One of its service users, who had begun a course in architecture before becoming homeless, even got a job as an architect with the association; another of its former homeless clients has become the assistant director for development in Ireland.

Novas began its tenant recruitment drive three years ago, while Thames Reach Bondway has just launched its own version (HT 24 March, page 13). Both schemes are open to any tenant, including those with no work experience or qualifications, but effort is made to match service users’ experience or interests with available jobs. They get training followed by a temporary placement and a full-time job if probation is passed.

Michael Wake, founder of Novas, says its scheme has been carefully devised to take into account any special needs a service user might have. “For example, if they need to take time off to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, or if a woman is just coming out of a violent relationship we can find a job where she’s away from the public, if that makes her more comfortable,” he says.

Whether you apply through a residents’ recruitment scheme or not, as a tenant or former tenant your experience can give you an edge in social housing work. Bill Tidenam, director of housing and community support at Thames Reach Bondway, says: “[Former tenants] know how it feels to be homeless and what it’s like to get services from people like us. As a result they have a lot of credibility with homeless people and very often a built-in bullsh*t detector. They help to break down the ‘them and us’ factor which can come between staff and residents.”

Shifting from service user to employee is not without its difficulties. Tenants taken on by a housing association or council must take care to keep anything they may learn about their neighbours through their position strictly to themselves. Equally, their new colleagues are expected to treat them as equals. “We give existing staff a lot of training to ensure they treat resident co-workers appropriately,” says Novas’ Wake.

But being closer to tenants than other members of staff can give you inside information that you are duty-bound to reveal. Jan Clarke, tower block warden for Southampton council, says: “In this job you hear things that housing officers won’t hear, such as who is dealing drugs. It’s my responsibility to report that to the police, but you have to be careful how you go about it.”

It is also important to check the legal implications of a change in status. If you are to become a warden, for example, you may be required to live in your employer’s property as a service occupier. Service occupiers have fewer rights than tenants and might lose their home if they lose their job. So before you get too excited about a job opportunity – which for many service users may be a vital first step back into work – discuss these issues in depth with your prospective employer.