Homeless Health Peer Advocacy Support Worker; Temp

Depaul Homeless Health Peer Advocacy Programme

Temporary role to cover a period of long term leave (expected to end December 2026).

Working hours:

Full time 35 hours per week, Monday to Friday. Salary: £25,394.88 per annum.

• Enhanced Annual Leave – 35 days per year, increasing with length of service
• Paid Sick Leave
• Company maternity and paternity pay
• Contributory pension scheme
• Health Cash Back & Rewards Plan
• Christmas Savers club
• Bluelight discount card

Plus many opportunities to learn and develop within the organisation.

Depaul is a cross‑border charity supporting some of the most marginalised individuals, couples and families experiencing homelessness. Our mission is to end homelessness and change the lives of those affected by it. We are a values‑led organisation and aim, at all times, to live and breathe these values in our everyday work.

Our values are based on four key principles:

• We celebrate the potential of people
• We put our words into action
• We aim to take a wider role in civil society
• We believe in rights and responsibilities

The aim of this service is to reduce unplanned use of health services, missed appointments and to re‑engage and retain individuals in specialist care services. The Homeless Health Peer Advocacy programme works directly with homeless services such as hostels to support vulnerable individuals to access health care.

We are looking for an individual who has lived experience of homelessness, addiction or personal experience of supporting a close relative with the same. Peer Advocates accompany service users to and from health appointments and help them better understand their health needs and receive appropriate support. We work to improve service users’ confidence in using health services and increase their ability to access healthcare independently.

• Work alongside different referring agencies such as the homeless nurse, the Addictions Treatment unit and a host of voluntary and/or health related agencies
• Participate in assessing new referrals referred into the service with the line manager
• Accompany and advocate for people at healthcare appointments – including GP, hospital, dental, mental health and others
• Provide clear and effective handovers to service users’ key workers after appointment support
• Use a check‑in/check‑out system with the line manager before and after appointments
• Help health care providers make contact with service users and notify them of their appointments
• Focus on building the skills and confidence to enable service users to continue accessing health services independently
• Facilitate health promotion groups
• Engage in lived experience groups and support the development of Depaul’s lived experience group
• Engage in supporting different research as appropriate and assist with assessing service users’ health outcomes through questionnaires
• Attend different homeless services highlighting the HHPA service to staff and service users
• Attend team meetings and any training organised by the line manager identified as beneficial for progression in the role
• Adhere to all Depaul policies and local procedures
• Adhere fully to organisational risk management procedures, especially in relation to assessing risk and lone working
• Ensure that all service users’ information is recorded and stored as required (OTIS database or other records) and in line with data protection regulations and Depaul’s confidentiality policy
• Respect service users’ right to confidentiality as per the Depaul confidentiality policy and code of conduct
• Promote respect, diversity and equal opportunities
• Attend supervision sessions with the line manager to discuss professional development

The above list is not exhaustive; additional areas of responsibility may be added over time.

• Have lived experience of homelessness and/or addictions or supporting a close relative with the same
• Be willing to travel to different locations; occasional travel to different counties in Ireland may be required
• Good time management skills
• Have good written and verbal communication skills
• Be secure in recovery if relevant
• Basic IT skills