Support worker jobs in Abbey wood, greater london

We're looking for a kind, compassionate and resilient Support Worker to join our Complex Mental Health Social Care Service in Tower Hamlets

£20,009.60 per annum, working 26 hours per week.
2x 13 hour shifts per week, including weekends and bank holidays with team meetings on a Friday.

Want to feel like you're making a difference? You'll feel at home here.

Making you feel at home here means helping you thrive in every way. That's why we offer a wide range of benefits, award-winning Learning & Development and a culture that welcomes all. These aren't token gestures - we've thought long and hard about how best to support our team. After all, our people are doing something amazing: helping to transform lives every day.

Our benefits include:

• Annual leave increasing up to 30 days with length of service
• Free DBS
• Exclusive discounts and cashback via Reward Gateway® and opportunity to buy a Blue Light Card
• Fully paid induction programme and further training
• ILM courses and Apprenticeship Programmes
• Cycle to work scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme for 24-7 confidential support
• Online wellbeing resources
• A generous pension - we will contribute up to 4% and life assurance cover up to £10,000 (T&Cs apply)
• Quarterly Staff Awards to reward & recognise our amazing staff's commitment and contribution
• All applicants must be legally eligible to work in the UK by the start of employment as Look Ahead are not able to offer sponsorship.

The Barnsley Street Project is a pilot service funded by NHS money following a bid by East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT). The service comprises of Look Ahead staff, ELFT staff, and Tower Hamlets Mental Health VCSE Alliance, formed of 17 local VCSE organisations. The Barnsley Street Project operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to provide support for people in the catchment area of one primary care network in Bethnal Green, Tower Hamlets. It provides a variety of psychosocial and clinical interventions, including the provision of 6 Hospitality Beds for short term support and intervention.

Support Workers within the Barnsley Street Project will be expected to support individuals requiring support from the local community that walk in to the service and those staying in our hospitality beds. This support may include providing tailored and co-produced practical, emotional, trauma-informed support to individuals with a variety of challenges relating to their mental health. This may include the management of symptoms, social support, navigating benefits and welfare systems, practical skills and signposting to specialist services in the local authority for intensive or specific support as required.

What you'll do:

• Building supportive, trusting relationships with customers and creating a positive atmosphere
• Working proactively with other members of the team to handle the service caseload and administrative responsibilities
• Conducting key work sessions as required, that are innovative and engaging in order to achieve individual goals
• Ensuring ongoing assessment and management of risks associated with customers within an attitude of 'positive risk taking'
• Providing support with daily living activities, including practical assistance to support customers to independent living e.g. budgeting, cooking, establishing a night time routine
• Supporting customers to maintain a healthy environment and where appropriate assisting them to clean their accommodation and maintain good personal hygiene
• Assisting in the recording and reporting of customer incidents
• Managing customer referrals, completing assessments and obtaining and maintaining all relevant paperwork
• Developing productive relationships with partner organisations to improve service outcomes
• Adhering to lone working protocols and maintaining high levels of awareness in relation to the health and safety of yourself and colleagues
• Involving customers in the design, development and delivery of the service
• Ensuring Look Ahead Health and Safety policies and local protocols are adhered to at all times e.g. fire risk assessments, fire alarm checks etc
• Taking on shift leading responsibilities by coordinating and leading shifts in the absence of a manager
• Being responsible for the handover of key information between shifts
• Adhering to all other Look Ahead's policies and procedures
• Engaging in learning and development activity to increase knowledge and skills
• Undertaking any other duties consistent with the grade and nature of the post as assigned by the Team Leader/Manager Undertake any other duties consistent with the grade and nature of the post as may be reasonably assigned

This is not an exhaustive list of all the duties and responsibilities that may be required from time to time and is subject to change in accordance with the needs of Look Ahead

Please see our website for the full job description.

We are opening a new detox centre and are looking for Support Workers to provide safe, compassionate, and practical support to individuals undergoing detoxification in a structured, trauma-informed environment.

Key responsibilities:

• Provide day-to-day support to clients during detox, ensuring safety, dignity, and wellbeing
• Recognise and respond to signs of withdrawal, deterioration, or crisis, escalating concerns appropriately in line with protocol
• Act as a keyworker for allocated clients, offering consistent support and engagement
• Carry out regular welfare checks and monitor clients’ physical and emotional presentation
• Support safeguarding practices and report concerns in line with policy
• Assist with drug and alcohol testing in line with training and procedures
• Support safe medication administration in line with policy and competency assessment, and report any side effects or concerns.
• Follow health & safety, infection control, and lone working procedures at all times.
• Work collaboratively with multidisciplinary professionals (e.g. nurses, clinicians, therapists) to ensure safe and effective care.
• Liaise with community services and professionals (e.g. housing, probation, recovery services) to support move-on following detox
• Maintain accurate electronic records and contribute to handovers and team communication
• Support with practical tasks as required, including maintaining clean and safe communal environments

Essential criteria:

• Experience in a support, care, or people-focused role
• Strong verbal and communication skills
• Understanding of safeguarding and willingness to follow safeguarding procedures
• Ability to recognise risk and respond appropriately, including escalation of safeguarding or medical concerns.
• Ability to build professional and supportive relationships with vulnerable individuals
• Willingness to complete mandatory training (e.g. safeguarding, first aid, de-escalation, substance misuse).
• Basic computer literacy and confidence using electronic systems
• Calm, reliable, and compassionate approach, including in challenging situations
• Willingness and ability to work across different shift patterns, including some weekends, as required by the service

Desirable:

• Experience in mental health, substance use, recovery, or related services
• Understanding of trauma-informed approaches
• Experience of key-working or supporting individuals with complex needs
• Knowledge of detox or recovery pathways
• Experience liaising with community or statutory services
• Experience working in a multidisciplinary team

We offer:

• Full training and ongoing development with scope for progression
• Supportive team environment
• Regular supervision and reflective practice
• Opportunity to be part of a new and developing detox service

This role requires working shifts, including evenings, weekends, and potentially nights.

Enhanced DBS required.

We're looking for a kind, compassionate and resilient Waking Night Support Worker to join our Young People Service located in Ealing. No personal care or experience required, just the right values.

£30,784.00 per annum, working 40 hours per week.

Our benefits include:

• Annual leave increasing up to 30 days with length of service
• Free DBS
• Exclusive discounts and cashback via Reward Gateway® and opportunity to buy a Blue Light Card

All applicants must be legally eligible to work in the UK by the start of employment as Look Ahead are not able to offer sponsorship.

Oaklands & St Kilda's is made up of two newly refurbished six-bedroom homes, located close to each other in Ealing, West London.

This is a Waking Night role working to support young people throughout the night at the service.

What you'll do:

This is not an exhaustive list of all the duties and responsibilities that may be required from time to time and is subject to change in accordance with the needs of Look Ahead.

• Building supportive, trusting relationships with young people and creating a positive atmosphere
• Working proactively with other members of the team to handle the service caseload and administrative responsibilities
• Conducting key work sessions as required, that are innovative and engaging in order to achieve Support Plan goals
• Co-producing ongoing assessment and management of risks in collaboration with young people with an attitude of 'positive risk taking'
• Providing support with daily living activities, including practical assistance to support young people s to independent living e.g. budgeting, cooking, establishing a night time routine
• Supporting young people to maintain a healthy environment and where appropriate assisting them to clean their accommodation and maintain good personal hygiene
• Assisting in the recording and reporting of customer incidents

About you:

• Ability to advocate for young people in different professional and community spaces
• Values working collaboratively with young people to ensure the service best meets their
• An understanding of peoples' contexts and how this might be impacting them their lives
• and mental health
• Cultural awareness and respect for the many different ways a person might make sense of their experiences and distress.

What you'll bring:

Essential:

• Up to NVQ Level 3 or equivalent in a relevant area

Desirable:

• Experience working in complex mental health environments

About us

We reserve the right to close this advert early if we are able to appoint to the vacancy before the advertised closed date.

Young People Support Worker

If you are the successful candidate, you will be joining a very tight-knit & supportive team that works tirelessly to ensure some of the most vulnerable individuals in the borough are well-cared for.

Location: Islington

Salary: £29,336 per annum

Closing Date: 21 May, 2026

Employment Type: Permanent

Hours per week: 37.5

About the Role

Make a meaningful impact every weekend by supporting young people to build the confidence, skills and resilience they need for independent living. In this 8 placement supported accommodation service, you’ll deliver focused, strengths based support, complete SMART outcome driven plans, and lead risk and needs assessments—helping clients progress with purpose while maintaining a safe and positive environment.

As Young People Support Worker at our service in Islington, you’ll run one to one and group sessions, support new residents to settle in, and work collaboratively with statutory partners to provide joined up, personalised support. With creativity, empathy and strong safeguarding awareness, you’ll motivate clients to engage in education, training, employment and community activities, all under Depaul’s assets based, psychologically informed approach.

Please note that this job opportunity is offered as a full-time (37.5 hours a week), permanent role.

In this role, you will:

· Deliver strengths based, outcome focused support that builds young people’s skills, confidence and independence.

· Complete risk/needs assessments and create concise SMART support plans.

· Run focused 1:1 and group sessions that boost resilience and engagement in EET/volunteering.

· Maintain a safe, positive accommodation environment with strong safeguarding practice.

· Support move ins, tenancy sustainment and day to day wellbeing in the service.

· Work collaboratively with statutory partners and contribute to rota, H&S and team duties.

About You

You believe in people — their strengths, their rights and their potential. You bring empathy, energy and a solution focused mindset to your work. You communicate clearly, stay organised and adapt well in a fast moving environment. You’re committed to inclusion, fairness and continuous learning, and you turn values into meaningful action, whatever your role.

What You’ll Receive

· Tailored training and development

· Flexible working options where suitable

· 26 days annual leave, rising with service

· Family friendly leave policies

· Pension scheme with employer contributions up to 7%

· Employee Assistance Programme with 24/7 GP access

· Discounts across retail, travel, food, fitness and more

· Cash health plan for you and your family

· Death in service benefit

· Access to legal and practical support

Safer Recruitment

The charity is committed to fair and inclusive recruitment, and we welcome applications from people of all backgrounds. If a role requires it under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975, we will carry out the appropriate Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check. We only look at information that is relevant to the role, and a criminal record will never be treated as an automatic barrier to employment. All DBS information is handled sensitively, confidentially and in line with the DBS Code of Practice, and we encourage applicants to discuss any concerns with us openly.

About The Organisation

In the 1980s, high unemployment and steep inflation was contributing to a shocking rise in youth homelessness across London. Thousands of young people were sleeping rough every night, with many areas notoriously dubbed “cardboard cities” due to the visible rise in street homelessness. Appalled by the scenes playing out across the capital, a group of people came together to tackle the challenge head on. Led by Cardinal Basil Hume and Mark McGreevy OBE, in 1989 the charity was born.

What began as a single housing project in North London soon expanded across London, Greater Manchester and the North East of England. Today, the charity provides accommodation, prevention and support services to thousands of marginalised young people across the UK each year.

#INDNFP

Please note this role is advertised by the recruitment agency acting for the client – Not For Profit People.

Job Title:                     Case Worker – CAPSA Services (Culturally Appropriate Peer Support and Advocacy)  

Reports to:                  CAPSA Team Manager

Geographic focus: Lambeth

Salary:£30,500

Hours of Work: 37.5 per week (flexible working available)

Duration:                    2 Year Contract (with a potential to extend)

Benefits:26 days annual leave plus bank holidays, pension contribution, Employees' Assistance Programme.

Purpose of the role

The CAPSA (Culturally Appropriate Peer Support and Advocacy) Worker role has been specifically designed to support Black people using the secondary mental health system. As a CAPSA Worker, you will provide both Generic Mental Health Advocacy and Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA) to eligible individuals, including people detained under the Mental Health Act(MHA) 1983/2007, conditionally discharged restricted patients, those under Guardianship, and those on Community Treatment orders, as well as individuals considered for section 57 treatments.

You will play a key role in ensuring that the perspectives of Black service users are recognised and respected, addressing their unique and multiple needs, and promoting access to advocacy for all eligible individuals. You will raise awareness of advocacy, rights under the MHA, and the CAPSA service among professionals, individuals, and agencies.

In addition to direct advocacy, you will contribute to service development by supporting an effective administration system and helping evaluate the impact of advocacy for both service users and commissioners.

As part of CAPSA’s race-led approach to systems change, you will also help challenge systemic racism in mental health services, embed culturally competent practice, and promote equitable care within South London and Maudsley NHS Trust (SLaM).

Job summary

Black Thrive Lambeth has developed a co-designed, culturally appropriate peer support and advocacy service (CAPSA) on behalf of the Living Well Network Alliance (LWNA). CAPSA provides support to Black community members with mental health needs through peer support and advocacy, led by individuals with lived experience or lived understanding of mental health challenges. The service creates a space where experiences are respected, accepted, and valued equally.

The role involves building positive relationships with Black service users; offering one-to-one and group advocacy; supporting self-advocacy; gathering and sharing information to inform decision-making; and preparing monitoring reports and feedback. Advocates ensure that the views, wishes, and needs of Black service users are heard and acknowledged, addressing the impact of racism within traditional mental health services.

Duties and responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:

Advocacy & Support for Black Service Users

• Work with individual Black service users to provide culturally informed advocacy, support, and representation to assist them in decision-making related to their care, treatment, and legal status.
• You will manage a caseload of up to 10 clients.
• This will consist of weekly meetings with clients and supporting them around their care in the mental health system, this will be both within inpatient services and CMHTs (Community Mental Health Teams) as well as in the community.
• Support Black service users in developing and maintaining their cultural identity by identifying strengths and advocating for culturally relevant mental health interventions.
• Develop trusting relationships with Black service users within appropriate boundaries to help them express their mental health needs.
• Assist service users in preparing for meetings, attend appointments with them if required, and advocate on their behalf where needed.
• Provide information and updates on the progress of advocacy issues and ensure clients understand proceedings.

Culturally Informed Peer Support & Recovery

• Use lived experience and cultural understanding to promote positive self-esteem and recovery through a culturally informed peer support model.
• Provide practical guidance to Black service users, and where appropriate, their carers, on self-care, resilience strategies, and managing mental health within a race equality framework.
• Promote service user involvement by empowering individuals to communicate their culturally lived experiences and mental health needs to professionals.
• Challenge peer support models, stigma, and discriminatory practices that fail to recognise the cultural needs of Black service users.

Community Engagement & Stakeholder Collaboration

• Work collaboratively with key stakeholders and community members to develop a culturally informed advocacy and peer support model.
• Establish regular advocacy ‘drop-ins’ on wards and in the community, ensuring accessibility for Black service users.
• Signpost service users to culturally relevant community, inpatient, and online resources, as well as mainstream and specialist services.
• Liaise with, and when necessary, challenge NHS professionals, care teams, and local authorities to ensure due process and cultural competence in service delivery.
• To maintain a level of professionalism in all spaces always.

Role Expectations

• Maintain confidentiality, respect service users’ right to privacy, and ensure their dignity is always upheld.
• Keep accurate and timely records of advocacy and peer support work, providing regular verbal and written reports to the line manager.
• Attend team meetings, participate in one-to-one supervision, group supervision sessions, and complete mandatory training in peer support and other job-related areas.
• Raise safeguarding concerns following organisational policies and procedures.

GENERAL

• To attend and participate in meetings held by the CAPSA team and other bodies as required.
• To maintain records of hours worked and to complete accurate expense returns.
• To foster and develop an equality and diversity approach within the role, in line with Black Thrive’
• To promote the service through the distribution of publicity materials, liaising with statutory and voluntary services, and, where appropriate, through the media and presentations to local groups within the agreed company policies.
• To promote the role of advocates both within the Living Well Network Alliance (LWNA) and externally.
• To work well as part of the team in a way that promotes inclusivity and respect in a supportive environment.
• The above is not an exhaustive list of duties, and you will be expected to perform different tasks as necessitated by your changing role within the organisation and the overall business objectives of the organisation.

Qualities Required

Each quality is marked as either E (Essential) or D (Desirable).

Experience (E/D)

1. Understanding and/or experience of mental health legislation and the Mental Health journey process in numerous settings – E
2. Lived experience of racism or discrimination in wider society and in the provision of mental health services – E
3. Experience of identifying and meeting the needs of individual people – E
4. Experience and ability to develop and maintain relationships with various stakeholders – E
5. A commitment to working in an anti-racist and anti-oppressive way – E
6. Confidence in challenging stigma and discrimination within structural settings – E
7. Experience of working in an advocacy or healthcare setting – D

Knowledge and Skills (E/D)

1. Understanding and knowledge of assessment of needs – E
2. Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work with people from a variety of backgrounds and experiences – E
3. Excellent communication skills, both written and oral, including via telephone, in person, over video link, and through presentations, demonstrating confidence and assertiveness – E
4. Emotional resilience and the ability to cope with sometimes challenging people and environments – E
5. Ability to work flexibly to meet varying demands on the service – E
6. Good organisational skills, including timekeeping and ability to travel to different locations – E
7. Excellent computer literacy and a good working knowledge of Microsoft Office – E
8. An understanding and awareness of The Equality Act 2010 – E
9. Ability to act calmly and respond professionally to distress, disturbance, and unpredictability – E
10. Ability to work independently on own initiative and prioritise workload while working as part of a team – E
11. Commitment to learning through work-based learning and mandatory training – E
12. Knowledge of mental health legislation such as MHA 1983/2007, MCA 2017 – D
13. Understanding of the specific role, purpose, and responsibilities of an Independent Mental Health Advocate – D
14. Knowledge and/or awareness of safeguarding issues – D
15. An additional language (e.g., Portuguese, French, etc.) – D
16. Qualifications in Peer Support / Advocacy – D

We welcome applications specifically from Black people of African and Caribbean heritage, as the statutory requirement of the Equality Act 2010, Advance Equality in Mental Health 2020 and Parent Carer Race Equality Framework 2020, in order to address the importance of Black employee safety. These posts are therefore restricted to Black applicants under the Equality Act 2010, Schedule 9 and Part 1.

An enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check will be required. Still, we will treat applicants with a criminal record fairly and not unreasonably discriminate because of a conviction or other information revealed.