Alan
I have worked at the Arch since the 16/07/07 as
a resettlement support worker. Prior to this I
worked for another organisation doing similar
type of work. During the time I have worked at
the Arch I have seen many tenants lives been affected
in a really positive way. I feel this is due the
structure at the Arch concerning the support in
place and the staff showing respect to the various
individuals they come into contact with. The majority
of our tenants have developed and maintained productive
routines such as attending college, courses and
recovery programmes.
John
Hey folks! John Williams here.. For you folks
that don't know me - I’m the live-in warden
along with my main role as support worker. Just
to bring you all up to date with some of the things
that has been going on over this last year. Over
this last year I've been fortunate enough to study
counseling at Strathclyde University, which fulfilled
an ambition of mine that I've had for a number
of years. In short It has been a great opportunity
to further develop professionally and at a personal
level. So much so That I hope to go on and study
further at the Diploma level.
Watch this space!
Paul
Paul Farrell here again, for those of you who
didn't read my last up date here's a recap. I
have been working as a sessional/voluntary within
the Arch for over a year now and during this time
I have I have gained valuable experience and qualifications.
As an ex service user within the Arch I have been
giving the opportunity to see how the Arch is
run from both sides of the fence so to speak which
is giving me the tools to go forward and pursue
a great career in social care A big thanks again
for the continued friendship and support.
Michael
I have now been working with the Arch for year
and 4 months and during this time it has been
rewarding and also challenging as I have learnt
to develop people skills and also develop my practice
as a Resettlement Support worker. This has been
done by the ongoing staff training and also by
the current qualification that I have undertaken
to help improve my practice. The qualification
that I am currently doing is a SVQ level 3 in
Health and Social care and at some point in the
near future will be finished. It has also been
a privilege to have an influence in helping people
in developing their life skills and watch men
who have not had much of chance and support move
on into becoming independent.
Stacey
Hi, my name is Stacey. I am currently on placement
at the Arch Resettlement Centre as part of an
HNC/SVQ course in Social Care. I have been as
the Arch since October 2007. From working alongside
the staff and tenants at The Arch it has become
evident that an extremely worthwhile service is
being provided. I have found that the structure
of support offered at the Arch is extremely effective
and indeed invaluable to the tenants. Since October
I have been given the opportunity to gain experience
in all areas of the support work carried out at
the Arch which essentially involves assessing
the needs of each individual and supporting them
until such time as they feel ready to move on
to their own tenancies. Through working closely
with the tenants it has become evident that they
benefit greatly from the positive safe environment
created by the staff, which is reflected in the
high success rate of tenants moving on to their
own tenancies.
Back
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_______________________________________________________________________________________
Gilven
projects
Gilven re-opening
All the teams have moved back into Gilven house.
We have made the the most of this networking
opportunity by hosting three open days to allow
people to come around and see the new facility.
During open days we have hosted representatives
of local agencies with whome we work, members
of local churches who provide various levels of
support and, most recently, an official opening
day.
Photos and coments on this can be viewed by clicking
here Gilven
opening Day. A report on the refurbishment
and the work of the Gilven project here Gilven
Project Brochure
These are PDF files and you will require Adobe
Reader to view these file, this can be downloaded
here Adobe
Reader
Give it a Go Event
On the 17th of March the Gilven Employability
project linked together with Learn Direct Scotland
to run an event targeting learners who faced multiple
barriers preventing them from entering into training,
education and employment.
This event was a great networking opportunity
as it involved a variety of partners including:
Next Steps, Rathbone training centre, Adam Smith
college, Elmwood college, APEX Scotland, Careers
Scotland, Glenrothes Detached youth workers, Kirkcaldy
homeless trust, Glenrothes YMCA, Glenrothes ABE,
Bridging the gap, SWAP East Fife, Learn Direct,
Fife childcare strategy, Clued up project and
independent service providers.
The employability team had also contact local
schools and other agencies that were unable to
get involved at this point in time.
The day included information stands, craft workshops,
healthy living workshops, Learn directs employability
workshops, a confidence building workshop called
Feel the Fear when people were invited to walk
over broken glass,
Career Scotland’s Worknet introduction
workshop and a crèche facility so that
single parents were not excluded.
Approximately 40 participants joined in activities
with the majority of people staying the full day.
The feel the fear workshops took in a total of
22 participants who completed the hour long workshops
and the training commented on the success of the
event, saying that it was a great way to target
these hard top reach Clients.
For more information on the Employability
project the quarterly report is available here
Employability
Quarterly Report
This a PDF file see above
SVQ Successes
Both Donna and Laura have completed their SVQ
4 in management and Gaye is hoping to complete
the award soon.
Anne Sneddon and June Cameron have also completed
their SVQ 3 during this refurbishment period and
we have another 3 members of staff who are working
on this award, this will lead to all our permanent
staff being fully qualified!
The following
is an exerpt from the open day brochure for Given
House reopening
Gilven Project Manager’s Report—March
2008
Since taking up position as Manager in November
2005 there has been many challenges and changes
at Gilven House. On reflection these have all
been positive changes and developments but as
we were going through them it was sometimes difficult
to see the light at the end of the tunnel. We
continue to maintain the strong Christian values
which Scottish Christian Alliance is based on
and I believe that God has seen us throughmany
situations and helped us to maintain our identity.
We have established a very strong and faithful
Prayer Support Team who meet together and pray
regularly for us, this is a real encouragement
to everyone, Christian or not.
One of our main aims is to build a strong united
staff team who support each other to enable us
to carry out our demanding roles of supporting
marginalised and vulnerable people. The current
political, economic and social climate is moulding
our aims and objectives, encouraging us to work
in partnership, avoid duplication and provide
a unique service. We currently do this through
our Employability programme and our safe, drug
and alcohol free hostel for young vulnerable women.
Our scatter flats and community support projects
continue this work within the community, building
social networks and supporting people to live
independently. We have developed our service to
provide transitional support for people who move
out of our supported accommodation into their
own tenancy.
We are forming strong links and working more closely
with local agencies who provide similar services
to allow us cut overheads and provide a more streamlined
Fife wide service. We have commissioned an agency
to provide a concierge service over the weekends
to allow support staff to concentrate on specific
structured support during the week.
The Staff Team has been trained and restructured
over the last two years, promoting internally,
enabling our hostel team to deliver support over
all aspects of the project including employability
and floating support. We have developed new initiatives
under the umbrella of employability, we hope to
continue to develop this service and roll it out
to other agencies in Fife.
This is an exciting time and a new beginning as
we move back into a beautifully refurbished Gilven
House which will provide a tailored environment
for both Service Users and Staff. We look forward
to the future and what God has in store for us.
Trish O’Brien— Gilven Project Manager
Project Manager
From
the Gilven project Team
Laura
