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Health Engagement Work

Supporting people experiencing homelessness to take care of their mental and physical health

Brighton

Supporting people experiencing homelessness to take care of their mental and physical health

How we help people living in emergency or temporary accommodation engage with their health care

We support people living in emergency accommodation to engage with professional treatment for their mental and physical health issues, reducing unplanned hospital admissions, and empowering them to take better care of their health. This could involve:

  • Ensuring a continuity of care when people are discharged from hospital
  • Making sure they can access their prescriptions and health appointments
  • Attending a weekly clinical supervision to get an overview of the client’s medical issues
  • Accompanying them to appointments and advocating for their health needs
  • Connecting them to mental health or substance misuse services
  • Supporting people to attend rehab
Alongside our health-focused work, we also support people to address wider needs such as:
  • Applying for benefits and understanding their entitlements
  • Finding and bidding on more suitable housing
  • Accessing food vouchers, bus passes, and furniture for their housing

Our work aims to prevent people from slipping into rough sleeping or worsening health and support them to live a healthier, happier and safer lifestyle.

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I don’t know what I would have done without the support from Justlife. I have been suicidal and attempted it but I haven’t done this since having the support from Justlife

She (Justlife Worker) made me feel safe and trusted to use the health services. She has taken me to health services and places where I can feel secure and safe. She used to listen to my words without judging.

Why our health engagement work matters for people who are homeless

Homelessness can have a devastating impact on people's health outcomes and serious health issues can even cause homelessness. In Shelter's research, 66% of people reported that temporary accommodation had a negative impact their on physical or mental health. Residents can find TA extremely stressful; poor living conditions, sharing communal spaces with strangers, a lack of cooking facilities, and the uncertainty of housing vulnerability can trigger anxiety, depression, trauma and low self-esteem.

Without professional support, health problems can worsen and building a life away from homelessness can become more complicated. We work alongside health professionals to improve people's health and give them the best chance of leaving homelessness behind.

Our impact

76

Mental Health

76 clients / professionals identified an improvement in physical or mental health, and 25 identified an improvement in their substance misuse.

616

Health appointments

physical / mental health appointments were arranged or attended by a health engagement worker.

33%

Hospital visits

In Brighton, we've provided health engagement work to over 700 people, resulting in a 33% reduction in unplanned hospital admissions and a 47% reduction in hospital readmission rates.

63

Motivation

63 of our Brighton clients reported an improvement in their motivation to take responsibility for themselves going forward.

Our impact

1000

health appointments

Over 1000 physical / mental health appointments were arranged or attended by a health engagement worker last year.

33%

reduction in hospital visits

In Brighton, we've provided health engagement work to over 700 people, resulting in a 33% reduction in unplanned hospital admissions and a 47% reduction in hospital readmission rates.