Community Support Worker

Challenge Trust’s Community Support Worker (CSW) Service is for people with mental health problems who have ongoing, community based support needs and require support to self-manage their situation. Services are provided by trained staff with appropriate qualifications, competencies, skills and experience in meeting the support needs of a client. Clients are allocated to a CSW who best matches their needs in terms of age, culture and gender.

The service also assists people in determining their individual support needs. The CSW plays a key coordination role, linking the person, their family/whanau and the community together while focussing on the services and resources client need to access to develop independence in the community.

The service is responsive to the service users cultural needs. The aim of the CSW Service is to encourage individuals to develop and attain goals and to establish natural community supports through an appropriate support programme.

Visits are normally prearranged by mutual agreement between the consumer and the CSW. However, there is some flexibility to allow for unexpected needs.

REFERRALS

Referrals are through clinical service units, GP or a self-referral and the process differs slightly for each type of referral route.

What does a Challenge Trust Community Service Worker Service look like in action?

ABOUT GLORIA

Gloria lived in a residential setting for many years and was supported by residential support workers, a clinical team, a psychiatrist and a clinical key worker. She was initially referred to the Challenge Trust CLS team whose primary goal was to find her suitable accommodation. This was achieved within a short timeframe. It was also her dream to have a relationship with her two children.

After achieving her first goal, Gloria was then referred to the Challenge Trust CSW team. With their help and guidance, she felt empowered with her progress and the decisions she was beginning to make for herself. She also secured part-time work, becoming more motivated within herself. Over time, the CSW team observed that Gloria was a lot more confident and happy with her life, letting it be known to people she would come in contact with, including her children. She now sees her grandchildren on a regular basis and they communicate with her more often.

With Gloria’s significant progress along the recovery pathway, she no longer requires support from the CSW, and is now under the care of her G.P.

ABOUT KAREN

Karen lives in a family home with her partner and his father. The support she needed would enable her to achieve the goal of being happier with herself, being more in control of her wellness and, most importantly, to maintain happier relationships with people within the home environment.

In the past, Karen would continually have regular bouts of anxiety and depression. She would run away from any supports that were put in place and more often than not, would end up in respite facilities which she couldn’t cope with.

The supports put in place for Karen were to support her to be more relaxed, understand herself, the key event triggers, her illness and to become more positive with life and where she was heading, while developing coping mechanisms to deal with problems when they presented.

With Challenge Trust’s CSW input, Karen managed to remain well for extended lengths of time. When she experienced uncomfortable feelings, which took place when she was under pressure, she learned to recognise how these feelings affected her wellness levels, and what she had to do to change the situation.

Karen continuously expressed her gratitude to the CSW worker as well as the team of people that came into her life. What a difference being part of the CSW service made to her life. She is now able to focus more on the positives of her life.

Eventually, Karen enrolled on a course and focused her thoughts on achieving what she is good at doing. Even when barriers were put in her way, she was able to think outside the square and come up with solutions that she was happy with.

Her personal relationships within the home environment have also improved greatly. She has since been discharged from having a clinical key worker but remains under a psychiatrist and CSW service. Karen is over the moon with the major progresses she has made in life. Karen is now continually setting goals for herself with or without the support of the CSW.

In achieving these goals she understands that if an obstacle is encountered while trying to achieve a goal, she is now capable of working out through the obstacle by taking an alternative approach.