August 30, 2024
|By Foundation
|
Three Years: Three Roles
The Journey from Housing Support Worker to Service Manager
To celebrate Foundation turning 40 we are shining a spotlight on our Foundation colleagues. This year we were lucky enough to speak to Leanne, Service Manager at Our Way Leeds (OWL). Leanne started as a Housing Support Worker in 2021 and in 2024 is now the Service Manager…
When did you start working at Foundation/OWL?
6th January 2021 as a Housing Support Worker.
What inspired you to become a housing support worker?
I needed a job. Seriously though, I had an interest in youth work since I was 16 and had done volunteering. My whole career has been in youth and community work. I broke off from this type of work for a little bit and worked within criminal justice and employment support before starting at Our Way Leeds. At this point I knew I wanted to go back to supporting young people.
Why?
Because I can relate to young people, I enjoyed the job I previously had, but youth work was all I had ever known. Youth work as I know it is not funded anymore, so this was not a route I could take. I had little housing knowledge from working within criminal justice, so thought why not, let’s give this a bash at OWL.
What is traditional youth work?
There are a few strands of youth work. It is all access support, so group work, specific theme based work, youth clubs etc. There are very few youth clubs now. I did a lot of work around substance misuse, ASB(anti-social), rights of a child, care leavers and young people who are looked after. I also did art based work and made sure groups were for everyone to access. But these have lost some or all their funding. Which means services have had to reduce their offer to remain able to offer anything. In a nutshell the traditional youth work I did was looking at the things that affect and impact young people through group work.
Have you always wanted to work with young people/young people at risk of homelessness?
Pretty much yes.
Why?
Once upon a time, I was a teenager and from about 15 years old I had a few youth workers working with me. They were a consistent source of support for me in a particularly difficult time in my life. I did my work experience with them, they put things in place for me, so I didn’t have to be in a classroom-based setting as much and were available when I needed. I got used to making lots of cuppas and had a good experience working with them. After this I started volunteering with the 5–13-year-olds when I was about 16 and still at school. One of the youth workers I have worked with for years now has a sign that says, ‘Be the person who you needed when you were younger.’ This serves a reminder of why, as much as I am a service manager, it reminds me as to why I am here doing what I do.
When did you become Team Leader and was this a step you had imagined for yourself?
I became Team Leader in July 2022. This was not something I aspired to; I didn’t really fancy it. But the opportunity came up and I had received encouragement from other members of the team, so I went for the job.
What was the biggest change for you when you moved roles?
The biggest change for me was the difference in the interaction with the clients as this dramatically reduced. For the most part I was sent out to clients when there was a need for me. I interacted with clients when needed and sometimes this was not always positive.
What was your favourite thing about being a Team Leader?
When staff got a good outcome for one of their clients and celebrating that with the staff. Good outcomes could include successful move ons, so clients securing their own accommodation, generally doing well, getting into college, various different things.
You became Service Manager at OWL in June 2024, just three years after starting as a Housing Support Worker, how does this make you feel?
I AM PROUD. I also feel very lucky to have had the opportunities I have had. I feel lucky to have had the support from managers who encouraged me to take this step.
You have expressed a clear passion and desire to work with young people but moving into management reduced your interactions. What was it about this role that interested you?
It came at a time where there had been a lot of change within our service and we faced some challenges. It felt nice that the organisation (Foundation) and my line managers both had that belief in me that I could be a service manager. I had been doing it for 6 months on an interim basis and it just felt right at that point. It is a big challenge, stressful at times but I enjoy interacting with the teams just as much as I enjoyed interacting with clients. I still get to celebrate the wins and good outcomes. A client in the dispersed team, wants to come in to introduce me to their new baby and they are only coming in when I am here. So, I must be doing something right.
What is your favourite thing about working at OWL?
The people. The teams, their interaction with each other. When we have visits from other services.
What challenges have you faced moving between roles?
The change in dynamics as I moved from being a peer to managing my previous peers and it was a challenge finding the balance there. Finding my management style and figuring out what works for individuals. There is not much difference between this and being a support worker as I still adjust to meet the needs and personalities of the individuals in my teams and support them in a way that works for them.
What advice would you give to colleagues or prospective employees if they wanted to progress within their service/take on a management role?
DO IT. If the opportunity comes up, then why not? I don’t think my job is any more challenging than a housing support worker, it is just different. Look at the development opportunities available to you, like the Future Leaders Programme. What my journey has taught is that there is support outside of your wider team too. I am lucky to have been offered support from central services and others in the wider organisation.
It is Foundation’s 40th Birthday this year, how are you going to celebrate and what would you like to say to fellow colleagues at Foundation?
We are planning a staff away day and as part of that there will be a section where we celebrate with cake of course. Within OWL there are lot of long-standing Foundation colleagues who have been here for 20 years so we will celebrate them and their commitment to Foundation. I would like to say well done to my colleagues; the organisation wouldn’t be where it is without these dedicated colleagues.
If you had to sum up your time at Foundation in three words, what would you say?
A wild ride.
What are your future aspirations or where do you want to be in the next 3 years?
I want to keep going. No big ambitions to keep going up the ladder I want to establish myself within this role. Once upon a time, I said never and now I will never say never again but come back to me in three years!