At YMCA Derbyshire, our housing navigators are at the heart of the support we provide to young people and community members.
Working directly with those living in our accommodation, housing navigators build relationships, help to achieve goals, organise assistance and support individuals to gain confidence and independence to move onto permanent residence.
Recently, we spoke to Donna about her daily activities as a housing navigator and how she helps those she works with.
“Every day is different – we do two different working patterns as housing navigators, it’s either 7:45am to 3:15pm or 2:45pm to 10:15pm. I thought I’d talk you through the morning shift this time.
“When I arrive at 7:45am, I meet with the concierge team who cover the night. We do a handover to talk through the tasks for the morning. This includes wake up calls for those who have appointments, checking in to ensure we have the whereabouts of all our residents and any actions we might need to move forward from the evening before – this could be talking to individuals regarding urgent issues.
“Breakfast is 8:30am to 9:30am, so I spend some time saying good morning and thinking about what we have on for the rest of the day. Most days, I have one to one’s with the residents I work with. Their ages range from 18-65 and I have around 18 people that I am a designated keyworker for at any time.
“All residents can access three hours of one-to-one support a week with me. It’s up to them what support they’d like, but we try to work on a baseline of improvement. This includes gaining access to a GP practice, registering for the dentist, opening a bank account if they don’t have one, HomeFinder, which gives them access to listed accommodation in the local area and mental health support, plus loads more.
“Sometimes I like to take those I work with out for a coffee or for a walk to the park when we meet, it gives them a change of scenery and can allow them to open up more.
“Even though this can be a hard-hitting and emotional job, there’s nothing else I’d rather do. This job gives me a sense of purpose, and although we can be involved in emotionally challenging situations, I know I’m making a difference daily. I have worked with people who have genuinely completely turned their lives around from being homeless to gaining employment, housing, and having a family.
“I am lucky to be in a position to help those who need it most.”
