The organisation exists to prevent homelessness and find routes out of homelessness into independent living for the people we support every day.

Our values are support, integrity, dignity, excellence.

Purpose of the service

Springboard helps young people experiencing homelessness build confidence and get ready for work, volunteering or learning. It is person led and young people can stay on the programme for as long as they need it. The majority of the young people on this programme come from our own homeless accommodation services: Keymoves, Stopover, Number Twenty and My Space.

In 2024 Four Square remodelled its employability programme Springboard, into a mentoring programme. We shifted the emphasis from qualifications and work to increasing confidence and working with young people to explore their interests and find their passions.

Now with National Lottery Fairer Life Chances funding we are expanding the programme to include a Wellbeing Practitioner. Through the experience of the last 12-18 month we know that many of our young people struggle to engage, and the pre-engagement phase of the programme can be prolonged. The addition of the Wellbeing Practitioner is to support the transition from interest in the programme, to being ready to fully experience the Springboard programme.

Purpose of the Role

The Wellbeing Practitioner will provide support to young people aged 16–25 who are experiencing homelessness in Edinburgh. Your focus is to support these young people to expect and experience a better future. You’ll help them build confidence, take care of themselves and pursue interests.

Many of the young people you will support will be struggling with poor mental health, low self-esteem and social isolation. This can prevent them from having hobbies, engaging in work, learning, volunteering, or friendships and generally preventing them from thriving.

Through consistent mentoring, wellbeing support and positive experiences, you will help young people reconnect with what makes them feel good, discover their strengths, and take meaningful steps towards independent, fulfilling lives.

Mission Statement

Our long-term vision is to end youth homelessness, our more immediate mission is to ensure that every young person in Scotland has access to expert youth specific services to assist them to avoid, resolve and move on from homelessness.

Context

Working as part of our Fife Short Term Housing Support Team, the Project Worker will work directly with young people age 16-25 yrs to coordinate and provide emotional and practical support to avoid, resolve and move on from homelessness.

Working directly with young people in their home or within a community setting the Project Worker will support young people to improve their independent living skills, access other services, manage finances and secure/ maintain a permanent home.

The Project Workers are responsible for completing support plans and risk assessments and are the main contact for any key people involved in the care and support of young people.

Mission Statement

Our long-term vision is to end youth homelessness, our more immediate mission is to ensure that every young person in Scotland has access to expert youth specific services to assist them to avoid, resolve and move on from homelessness.

Context

Working as part of our West Lothian Team, the Project Worker will work directly with young people age 16-25 yrs to coordinate and provide emotional and practical support to avoid, resolve and move on from homelessness.

Working directly with young people in their home or within a community setting the Project Worker will support young people to improve their independent living skills, access other services, manage finances and secure/maintain a permanent home.

The Project Workers are responsible for completing support plans and risk assessments and are the main contact for any key people involved in the care and support of young people.

Who We Are

We are Scotland’s leading youth homelessness charity. We believe that no young person should ever face homelessness. That’s why we deliver bold, youth-specific solutions, built around young people’s experiences and what evidence tells us works.

We support young people to avoid and move on from homelessness, helping them build the confidence, skills and stability they need to thrive in adulthood. We also influence policy and practice to create a Scotland where no young person is left behind.

We don’t follow the system, we change it, continually championing the voices and experiences of all young people.

Context

Rock Trust delivers the Upstream prevention project in schools and the post holder will work with the Upstream Team, pilot schools and education departments to create a toolkit for the implementation of Upstream. This will involve working with current pilot schools to document the changes required in school systems, the challenges and how to overcome them and an assessment of the resources required to deliver Upstream. The Ask & Act Education Manager will use this learning to create a toolkit and implementation plan to be used for national implementation.

This role is responsible for:

• Coordinating work with multiple local authority Education departments, senior leaders and cross-sector partners (Housing, Social Work, Health, third sector)
• Designing and documenting processes, guidance and training materials that enable schools to embed early identification of housing risk
• Capturing learning, gathering data and producing a national implementation framework
• Ensuring all activity aligns with statutory duties, local contexts and Rock Trust’s prevention approach

The Ask & Act Education Manager will need to be methodical, have strong report writing skills and interpersonal skills to co-ordinate the information gathering and documenting. They will be responsible for delivering the toolkit to a high standard, making a lasting contribution to Scotland’s homelessness prevention system.