This CoP is facilitated in partnership with Jess Smith, Research and Evaluation Manager at Framework. Jess has been working within complex needs and employability services for more than sixteen years. She is a passionate advocate of ‘work first’ and strengths-based approaches that champion the holistic benefits of engaging with employability.
Supporting vulnerable people to engage with employability and move into paid work is a valuable endeavour. It helps individuals to move away from the entrapments of poverty and homelessness. It also helps people to develop a greater sense of personal fulfilment, social inclusion, and agency over their lives. Whilst loss of employment can be a cause for homelessness, homelessness may also act as a barrier to remain employed or regain employment.
To respond to this issue we have launched this subgroup within our Employability and Skills CoP to focus on understanding and addressing the issue of working residents. This forum works to improve employability outcomes for people living in supported housing and challenge how the system operates so it is more supportive of people who experience severe and multiple disadvantage (SMD).
Who can join?
Whilst our main Employability & Skills CoP will continue to be an open group for people to learn about employability and skills in the context of SMD, this forum will be a closed group to people working within or receiving support from supported accommodation locally. We also welcome the involvement of people with lived experience of SMD who would like to contribute to positive system change, as well as employers.
Please find more information regarding the PDU Working Residents Community of Practice here. Register now to confirm your place.