Homeless Connect facilitates the Northern Ireland Frontline Network to connect a community of staff supporting people experiencing homelessness across the region.
Homeless Connect facilitates the Northern Ireland Frontline Network to connect a community of staff supporting people experiencing homelessness across the region.
Facilitating the Northern Ireland Frontline Network allows Homeless Connect to work towards their vision of helping Northern Ireland take the journey to end homelessness. Homeless Connect seeks to be the voice of the homelessness sector in Northern Ireland, and the network plays a pivotal role in ensuring the voices of frontline workers working are heard and amplified.
“The Northern Ireland Frontline Network provides valuable opportunities to staff working directly with people experiencing homelessness. As well as providing training to develop the skills and knowledge across the sector, the network provides a space and a community for frontline staff working to support and learn from each other. Ultimately, the network in Northern Ireland has helped in strengthening working relationships and in improving joint working and collaboration across the sector.”
Natalie Timothy, Learning and Development Coordinator, Homeless Connect
How the Network operates
The Northern Ireland Frontline Network supports workers from the public, statutory and voluntary sectors working on the frontline with those experiencing homelessness.
The network works in partnership with the UK-wide Frontline Network, so that frontline workers can come together with others to share their experiences. This is done at a local level through the facilitation of activities, workshops and events, including:
- Opportunities for frontline workers to regularly meet and come together in their areas.
- Opportunities to network, share experiences and expertise.
- The potential to explore solutions to key issues affecting staff and people they are supporting.
- Opportunities to form links between the frontline voice and decision makers.
What members say about the Network
“The Northern Ireland Frontline Network is the voice for myself and all my colleagues in this field. Each year, our responses formulated from the annual frontline workers survey are fed back to our funders and policy makers – a forum to have our voice heard amidst the struggles for many government services scrambling for limited finances.
Valuable training is also offered to members as well as the option for members to apply for grants of up to £500 to pursue their own personal development, this is something I try to encourage within my teams. I know I can also apply for group funding for any courses that would value the team/organisation. Myself and other team members have attended training on Trauma informed practice, compassionate conversations, understanding the private rental sector, advanced care planning to name a few.
The Vicars Relief Fund is such a valuable source of funding for many of our service users and we are indebted to St Martin-in-the-Fields for the number of grants they have awarded us over the years, the number of people that has been saved from homelessness or even on the street.
It is great to have a local resource here in Northern Ireland as they understand our local politics and the issues affecting workers and service users here in Northern Ireland and relay that back to higher levels within government.” Anne Blee, Senior Support Worker, First Housing
What the Network has achieved
Members of the network have informed two consultation responses in NI. Firstly, a response to the Supporting People Strategy for 2022-5 and secondly a response to a consultation on period poverty. In both cases, the outcomes reflected some of the insights provided. Additionally, members of the network have had the opportunity to brief the All Party Group on Homelessness and to directly engage with MLAs with positive impact.
If you’re interested in the work of the Northern Ireland Frontline Network, or feel like you would like to participate to help you in your role, you can subscribe to their newsletter to receive information about upcoming events.
