Households into Work is not just about helping people find work but about helping people get to a point where just thinking of employment as a realistic option, is a major step forward. Households into Work started in March 2018 and is jointly funded by both the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and the Department for Work and Pensions. The programme employs a team of 25, comprising of 6 team leaders and 19 employment advocates.

The advocates work across all 6 of the Liverpool City Region’s local authorities, mostly working on an outreach basis. The advocates provide people who start on the programme with 1:1 support, helping them tackle and resolve issues which are preventing them from seeking employment and for which they have no or limited access to people or services that might otherwise help them. The issues faced by people on the programme are complex and varied including debt and finance, housing, mental health illness, victim of domestic violence, addiction(s), isolation and disaffection. Until such issues are tackled, finding and sustaining employment is a very unlikely and unrealistic expectation.

People can remain on the programme for upto 12 months during which time the advocate will help the individual identify, prioritise and tackle the issues which are preventing them from seeking and sustaining employment. Unlike similar programmes which work with people on an individual basis, Households into Work takes a whole household approach so that the issues can be addressed collectively as well as individually. This is in recognition of the fact that other members of the household can contribute to the problems as well as to the resolution of the issues experienced by the individual. So involving other members of the household is more likely to achieve a longer lasting solution to the person’s problems, rather than simply working with them in isolation. Members of the household do not have to live at the same address, reflecting the dynamics and relationships between people who play a significant part in each other’s lives. Advocates also have access to funding, which can be used to purchase goods or services that can help underpin the work the advocate is doing with the individual or the household.

To be eligible for a place on Households into Work you must live in the Liverpool City Region, be aged 16 and over, be unemployed, be willing to join the programme and there be at least one other member of your household who meets the eligibility criteria. Referrals can be made by any organisation working with an individual who might benefit from a place on the programme (please be sure to get their permission first) or by the individual them self. Please note a referral does not automatically guarantee a place on the programme.