Our Health + Wellbeing programme helps people impacted by homelessness to manage their mental health, build emotional wellbeing and overcome barriers to independence.
The programme is managed by our team of counsellors and psychological wellbeing therapists. They deliver a range of support to our service users including one-to-one counselling, therapy sessions and group workshops.
We know that many people we work with have experienced trauma, either before becoming homeless or because of it. We give them the tools they need to manage that, tailoring our support very carefully to each individual.
We use traditional talking therapy and counselling. We also use more creative approaches like art, music or even gaming, and run activities using physical exercise to focus on peoples’ all-round health.
Ultimately, by supporting people with their mental health and wellbeing, we want to help them leave homelessness behind for good. To that end, the programme also tackles barriers to employment, working in partnership with education, training and employment specialists to deliver workshops about managing anxiety and stress in the workplace.
When we started our Health + Wellbeing programme in 2017 we were breaking new ground in the sector, testing psychological wellbeing as a tool to fight homelessness for the first time. Now, this way of working is widely recognised for its effectiveness.
This counselling will help me in the future because I’ve been challenged and I need to start challenging and questioning myself about things.
I need to communicate more, with myself and those around me, instead of letting it bottle up.
Jane, 2020
By working in a psychologically informed way we can address the barriers facing people impacted by homelessness. We can equip them to move forward with their mental and physical health toward happy, independent futures.
Working with the Health + Wellbeing team
Partnerships
We work with several partners across London who refer clients to our team. We pride ourselves on being able to deliver a service that is geographically accessible to clients, flexible, and rapid in its response to their needs. We see time and again the significant long-term impact of our work on clients who have experienced homelessness, as each person is offered a follow-up after their sessions, and the possibility of re-referral in future.
Join the counselling team
We provide supported counselling placements in our Health + Wellbeing team. These include monthly 1-2-1s with our counselling coordinator, and mandatory fortnightly clinical supervision. To be eligible, you must be studying in the second year of your L4 diploma or first year of a BSc or MSc or above, and have current or recent experience of receiving personal therapy. We also ask that you have the right to work in the UK, undergo a DBS check with us and are registered with the BACP.
If you would like more information about partnering with our service, or joining our team as a counsellor, please email jenna.soame@evolvehousing.org.uk.
