Outreach

Lincolnshire YMCA Outreach

The Outreach Department of Lincolnshire YMCA works in the community helping people to secure and sustain tenancies in the Lincoln city area. The department works with people of all ages who have complex issues which can include mental illness, substance misuse, long term street homelessness and abuse. The work is client lead encouraging our clients to become independent and assertive. It is important that they feel in control and we work alongside people in order to achieve this.

We work alongside other agencies such as The Nomad Trust, City of Lincoln Council, Probation, Addaction, etc to ensure that our clients are receiving the best possible support and assistance. We accept referrals from all agencies including self referrals.

The department also has four counsellors who see clients free of charge from the YMCA housing department and the community. Many of our clients have never had this opportunity before and it not only helps them to resolve issues but it makes them feel valued.

The Outreach Development Worker, a trained mental health nurse, works with homeless people throughout the county and regularly spends time in other areas of the county including Skegness and Market Rasen. She has a county-wide brief to work with homeless people with substance misuse issues and her post is funded by the Drug and Alcohol Action Team. She holds drop-ins at The Nomad Trust in Lincoln, the Salvation Army in Skegness and at Finkin Street, Grantham, although she takes referrals county-wide.

The team offer floating support to people to sustain their own tenancies and one of the team works closely with single teenage mothers. They also offer follow-on support for people leaving the YMCA. The work of all of the projects is client led and therefore varies depending on the client. It could be one-to-one support, help to access primary health care, benefits advice, budgeting or just being a voice at the end of the phone. Much of the feedback received from clients and other agencies is very positive and it is hoped to expand our projects in the future.

For further information on our Outreach work contact Lincoln (01522) 888204