The role of our Community Living Workers – Danielle
Our Community Living Workers are the front line of our organisation. They are the guys working in our communities supporting our members in a whole variety of ways to be connected and live their lives in a full and happy way as independently as possible. The role is quite different from traditional support worker roles and at times it can be difficult to explain exactly what it is. Over the last few months we have been creating a series of videos and blogs to let our Community Living Workers tell you more about the role themselves.
Lets meet Danielle who is the Community Living Worker for two of our networks in Midlothian.
Hi Danielle, so what attracted you to working with Neighbourhood Networks? – “I had worked in the field for a long time and felt that the role would allow me to be creative and make a difference. I also think that you feel more valued in a smaller organisation. I hadn’t heard of Neighbourhood Networks before seeing the job advert and done lots of research before the interview. I thought you made an effort and went the extra mile with some of the activities and events.”
How do you find this role different to previous support worker roles? – “It is not one to one support, its helping people live independently. Enabling rather than doing. I can also mould the role to my own skills, for example I have a degree in art and love doing support that allows me to combine this. Members also teach me lots of new skills, baking for example.
The role is also very flexible and I can mould the role around my life. I can edit my schedule as required and feel very supported in my role. It is quite different to traditional support worker roles so the induction process really helped to understand what was involved.”
Do you have fun at work? – “Yes I do have fun at work and a lot of the job role does just look like we are out having fun and building social skills, but there is always a reason behind all the activities we do. We are always working on coin use practice, independent travel, reducing isolation and making friends.”
Do you feel supported at work? – “Yes I do feel very supported at work by my line manager and the wider team. As a small organisation I think it is easier to always have someone to go to that you know. We are also well supported with training for our roles and this is something I am looking to do more of going forward, for example SVQs.”
Would you recommend Neighbourhood Networks as an employer? – “Yes I would. The role provides a great opportunity to support people to be independent and develop new skills – you can make a difference!”
To find out more about our Community Living Worker roles you can watch our films here.