Housing Advice Service
The Advice Service offers LGBT young people advice and support in all areas of housing. In all cases however, you can be confident of speaking to a worker who is friendly, approachable and professional. Below are some examples of some of the most common problems we deal with: homelessness, young people who have problems with their families, relationship breakdown, homophobic harassment , homophobic violence, domestic abuse, legal queries, eviction, housing benefit .
When we first speak to you, we will give you time to explain what your problem is and what action you have taken so far. You may just need some basic advice, or you may need more in-depth help. If we can identify a particular area where we might be able to help you, we will ask you some specific questions about your housing problem and your needs. We’ll use this information to assess whether we can offer you any longer term help. We may be able to allocate a specific caseworker who will work with you to resolve your housing problem.
A caseworker might help you in a number of ways, which might include: offering you legal advice, referring you to supported housing projects, writing letters on your behalf, accompanying you to meetings, advocating for you with third parties, making a homeless application for you, helping you fill in forms such as transfer, medical or housing benefit.
Employment Advice
Jigsaw can provide access to employment support for young people. We offer a range of support on employment issues to young people. In nearly all cases we can arrange a one-to-one session with an LGBT affirmative Connexions advisor who can provide young people with a plan to get on the right route for success.
If the young person has been unemployed for 6 months or more they can access a more structure programme which allows them to: explore career options, get back to work, gain confidence in their skills, get individually tailored support, gain work experience, get help to build jobseeking skills. The program includes: employment coaching with a qualified life coach to help you develop and achieve your goals; professional career assessments to help you figure out what work will fit; supported work placements and volunteering opportunities to get the experience you need; help with CVs, interview skills, job hunting and job applications; support with training and education; groups and workshops where you can learn from the experts and one another.