Ryan Maguire, a Senior Support Worker here at Karbon Homes, is part of a pioneering team using SIGNAL in a programme which provides support to customers who are struggling with their mental health.
SIGNAL is a tool which helps people identify their real needs while inspiring them to make the changes that are required to transform their lives.
SIGNAL includes a ‘Life Map’ to assess what’s going well in their lives and what they could use some support with. This simple, but powerful approach, gives people a chance to tell their story, see what’s happening in their lives and then reflect on their Life Map so they can decide what their priorities are, working with support workers to design strategies to achieve their desired change and record them in a personal development plan.
Ryan has been using SIGNAL to support some of the customers he works with:
“I’ve always been interested in mental health and helping people work out problems for themselves.
“My role is to offer support to customers who are struggling to manage their tenancies because they have poor mental health. People often arrive with the expectation that I’ll be telling them they have to clear their arrears, so my first job is to reassure them that I can work with them to help improve their well-being.
“In my experience, when people are struggling, SIGNAL is very good at encouraging positive thinking. The best way I can describe this is to tell you about Betti. Betti was having difficulty paying her rent. She was referred to me by a housing officer who understood the reason she was struggling was because she had suffered a particularly traumatic bereavement.
"When I first met Betti she was finding it very difficult to talk about her situation, even with other members of her family. She felt isolated and alone. I was able to offer her a safe space in which I could properly listen to her. Slowly but surely she started to respond; she talked to me about her grief.
“Only after it was clear that we had a good rapport and she trusted me, I introduced her to SIGNAL. Her Life Map enabled her to see what was going on in different areas of her life and to focus on the bits that felt manageable to her given the state of her wellbeing at the time. She was encouraged by the fact that there were several things that were green in her life. We had a conversation that highlighted there were areas in which she was doing well, and therefore perhaps she could do well in other areas too. Step by step she started to make progress.
“Having worked with Betti for a while, she completed a second Life Map so she could see if things were changing. It showed her she was making progress. She is still dealing with feeling isolated but feels she is overcoming this with my help. – she’s joined some groups and she has a part-time job. I believe this started from her finding herself in a safe space, which includes SIGNAL, where she was listened to rather than assessed and where she could open up to tell her story.”
To find out more about SIGNAL, visit clearsignal.org.
If you would like to find out more about the support services we offer, visit karbonhomes.co.uk/my-care-and-support or contact us by emailing info@karbonhomes.co.uk or calling 0808 164 0111.
Ryan Maguire, a Senior Support Worker here at Karbon Homes, is part of a pioneering team using SIGNAL in a programme which provides support to customers who are struggling with their mental health.
SIGNAL is a tool which helps people identify their real needs while inspiring them to make the changes that are required to transform their lives.
SIGNAL includes a ‘Life Map’ to assess what’s going well in their lives and what they could use some support with. This simple, but powerful approach, gives people a chance to tell their story, see what’s happening in their lives and then reflect on their Life Map so they can decide what their priorities are, working with support workers to design strategies to achieve their desired change and record them in a personal development plan.
Ryan has been using SIGNAL to support some of the customers he works with:
“I’ve always been interested in mental health and helping people work out problems for themselves.
“My role is to offer support to customers who are struggling to manage their tenancies because they have poor mental health. People often arrive with the expectation that I’ll be telling them they have to clear their arrears, so my first job is to reassure them that I can work with them to help improve their well-being.
“In my experience, when people are struggling, SIGNAL is very good at encouraging positive thinking. The best way I can describe this is to tell you about Betti. Betti was having difficulty paying her rent. She was referred to me by a housing officer who understood the reason she was struggling was because she had suffered a particularly traumatic bereavement.
"When I first met Betti she was finding it very difficult to talk about her situation, even with other members of her family. She felt isolated and alone. I was able to offer her a safe space in which I could properly listen to her. Slowly but surely she started to respond; she talked to me about her grief.
“Only after it was clear that we had a good rapport and she trusted me, I introduced her to SIGNAL. Her Life Map enabled her to see what was going on in different areas of her life and to focus on the bits that felt manageable to her given the state of her wellbeing at the time. She was encouraged by the fact that there were several things that were green in her life. We had a conversation that highlighted there were areas in which she was doing well, and therefore perhaps she could do well in other areas too. Step by step she started to make progress.
“Having worked with Betti for a while, she completed a second Life Map so she could see if things were changing. It showed her she was making progress. She is still dealing with feeling isolated but feels she is overcoming this with my help. – she’s joined some groups and she has a part-time job. I believe this started from her finding herself in a safe space, which includes SIGNAL, where she was listened to rather than assessed and where she could open up to tell her story.”
To find out more about SIGNAL, visit clearsignal.org.
If you would like to find out more about the support services we offer, visit karbonhomes.co.uk/my-care-and-support or contact us by emailing info@karbonhomes.co.uk or calling 0808 164 0111.
More news
Are you signed up for MyKarbon?
MyKarbon is a free, safe and secure online service that can be used anytime, anywhere, to manage your rent and repairs.
Recognising an ‘Unsung Hero’ in South Tyneside