For the past year, Justlife has been working with Changing Futures Sussex to establish a network of frontline workers across East and West Sussex: the Practice Networks.

Through feedback and research, we realised that podcasts could become an accessible and vital element of the Practice Networks’ free learning resources for frontline workers.

Now, we’d like to share the Practice Networks Podcast with you, the Justlife audience. It’s available on many major podcast providers, and easily listenable on the PodBean site. If you are a frontline-facing worker, or interested in the challenges and triumphs our staff face, it’s a fascinating listen.

Here’s a run-down of everyone we’ve interviewed so far:

We're joined by Psychotherapeutic Counsellor and Reflective Practitioner Renee Dickinson in this episode in a wonderful conversation that focuses on turning safe spaces into brave spaces.

Renee speaks of moral injury, reflective practice, a trauma-informed and person-first approach and Gillian Ruch's Heads, Hearts and Hands model of connecting with workers.

Find out more at Renee's website: RD Counselling and Therapy.

“It’s really important that you know where you do your best work because it gives people the best outcomes.”

Sara Emerson returns to take a deep dive into managing a team of frontline workers (and her incredible team days!). She speaks about specialisms, vicarious trauma, joy in support work and positive endings!

A tapestry of incredible ideas, co-produced by support workers and anonymous clients with lived experience, Common Ambition is a steering group like no other. Its goal is to improve support systems by working collaboratively and ensuring the voice of those with lived experience is central to service improvement and systems change.

How can we best help people experiencing homelessness and Multiple Compound Needs issues? Let's ask them.

"Using curiosity could be our biggest strength."

How do genders experience homelessness differently? We explore curiosity and creativity at Equinox women's house with Gemma Harfleet. She does incredible work supporting women in Supported Accommodation – we discuss Trauma Stabilisation and recovery in *part one* of this inspiring conversation.

"It should be a space of openness and curiosity."

In this episode, we're discussing innovation, and creating conditions suitable for change. Justlife CEO, Simon Gale, and Service Designer Emma Field discuss human-centred, process-driven Design Learning – using practices from design industries to galvanise our work! We begin breaking down how Emma identifies and overcomes challenges with BIG thinking.

"It's not walking in their shoes, but walking next to them."

This is where personal and professional meet! On a recent trip to Manchester, we sat down with Specialist Support Worker and trained Psychotherapist Rebecca Fox to find out how their role is different to Justlife's Health Engagement work in the South East.

We discuss personal-centred therapy theory and what Rebecca has learned in the support sector.

“They are all these different barriers why people don’t access healthcare and our job is to work out why that is”

In this episode of the Practice Networks Podcast, Sam and Jules talk to Sara Emerson, Justlife's Health Engagement Team Leader.

Sara and her team work hard to support people experiencing health issues who live in emergency or temporary accommodation; ultimately helping clients move on and move away from both.

“How do we work in a way that’s kind, that’s psychologically informed but that doesn't take away people’s autonomy and people’s sense of them as a human, warts and all?”

Alex Procter talks about her new role as Lived Experience Lead at Justlife. What is Expertise by Experience, and how vital is such lived experience to support work? Together the team unpick and defines lived experience or experts by experience, as well as some processes and practices to engage people with lived experience and the importance of being kind!

We do hope you enjoy them, and value any feedback. Any questions? Reach out to sam@justlife.org.uk today.

Special thanks to Projects Brighton, who have supported this work with their podcasting suite, The Edit.