Community Partner

One Small Thing was founded in 2014 by prison philanthropist Lady Edwina Grosvenor, in response to the unacceptable levels of suicide, self-harm and violence within women's prisons in England, with the aim of achieving wholesale system change across the justice system, one small thing at a time.

Our vision is a justice system that recognises, understands, and responds to trauma.

Our mission is to redesign the justice system for women and their children by:

· Redesigning the way that the justice system responds to women and their children in a way that can be replicated on a national scale.

· Educating women involved with the justice system to understand how trauma can affect them and equip them with the skills to respond; and training front-line staff to understand and respond effectively to trauma and adversity.

· Influencing politicians and policy makers to encourage a cultural change across the justice system and the people who work within it.

Hope Street is the first purpose built, county-wide residential community designed by women, for women. Trauma-informed by design it is both a safe place and a new way of working alongside women. Hope Street offers a community within which women and their children can access education, practical, and therapeutic support in a safe, respectful and trusting environment.

As a Community Partner, you will be part of a team setting out to deliver this innovative and exciting residential service for women and their children from Hampshire. You will support our residents, working with the women on a personal programme that addresses all their needs in terms of their skills development, health and wellbeing, and in relation to their Community Order.

You will also provide support to the women to manage any potential risks that they are exposed to and provide the one-to-one support they need in relation to any other aspect of their lives that they need help with. You will collaborate with the wider team to ensure that you are always up-to-date on the women's needs and progress, to ensure a consistent approach and network of support for each woman and child at Hope Street. A childcare qualification will be advantageous.

You will be covering shifts between the times of 08:00 and 20:00, across 7 days, working 1 weekend on, 1 weekend off. Weekly hours are 37 per week, however we will consider a 30 hour per week contract for the right candidate., Provide emotional support to women by listening to their concerns and worries, reassuring them, providing them with advice and guidance, acting as a role model to help them to develop resilience to factors and influences that have a negative impact on their wellbeing.
Support women to develop a daily routine that meets their emotional and physical needs, helps them fulfil their Community Order conditions and helps them to achieve the personal aims identified in their personal development programme.
Work with colleagues to plan and deliver a therapeutic programme of support and help women to participate in a meaningful way, joining in with them where necessary to build their confidence.
Maintain all case management notes and records accurately using the Case Management System.
Support women to attend appointments and meetings with other professionals involved, such as Probation or Social Care, and act as an advocate for her where appropriate.
Be alert and responsive to behaviour, new information or other changes which could indicate an escalation of risk of serious harm and respond appropriately to challenging behaviour (including unacceptable behaviour) to de-escalate tension and potential harm.
Provide support that helps women to manage strong feelings and keep themselves and others safe.
Where appropriate, deliver group-based workshops and programmes to empower women to move forward with their lives and to challenge the stigma associated with women affected by the Justice System.
Help women to complete applications for relevant benefits and attend appointments where necessary.
Help women to budget and manage their money.
Respond immediately to any safeguarding through the appropriate channels. Communicate with colleagues to ensure that information relating to the personal safety and wellbeing of the women is shared so that as a team you can provide ongoing support or intervention.
Participate in team meetings, reflective practice sessions and other team building events.
Be responsible for your own personal learning/development and keep up to date on research, relevantlegislation, policy and practice, and other literature
Support the rest of the team in 'turning around' residents' accommodation i.e., cleaning, clearing and resetting bed linen etc.
Support the residents to keep the hub and community clean and tidy, role modelling and providing advice and guidance on key life skills such as cleaning.
Participate in regular handover meetings to ensure that any concerns identified during the day are passed to the night team so that any actions or support required is implemented.
This post is restricted to women due to the nature of the role. The Occupational Requirement under Schedule 9 (part 1) of the Equality Act 2010 applies.

This post requires that you have a valid driving licence, access to a car and relevant insurance for business use; there may be occasions where you are required to support residents to attend appointments, in an emergency situation. You will also be required to attend local or county meetings or training.