Groundswell Homeless Health

Mental Health- Groundswell HHPA service provides the emotional and practical support to individuals with complex lives that they need to engage with medical appointments in Camden.

The service works with homeless people in Camden who experience barriers to access and engagement with preventative and life-saving services that mean that problems can remain untreated until they become very severe and complex and result in hospital services, especially via emergency admission, or readmission.

It does this by, for example, encouraging and helping people to consider their health needs, scheduling appointments, and helping people prepare (mentally and physically) for appointments, accompanying them to the appointments and waiting in the waiting room with them, helping schedule follow-up appointments, helping health services to understand the adjustment and approaches the homeless person may need, and providing emotional support.

The service may provide support to homeless people staying in hospital.

Barriers homeless people face to accessing services include stigma and discrimination; lack of trust; fragmented and confusing pathways and a lack of appropriate communication. Often when homeless people access services, they experience being further labelled (as difficult or complex) and then excluded again for being too hard to help. The service helps to bridge the gap between people's needs and capacity and capability of health services to respond.

The service is managed by a paid member of staff and delivered by trained and closely supervised volunteers who have experienced homelessness themselves. It has a strong commitment to working in a way that enables people to have greater control over their lives. Those accessing the service encounter a non-judgemental and friendly environment, and an advocate that wants to get to know them and listen.

This peer element is an essential component of the service, as it enables homeless people to benefit from the insight and understanding of others who have been in similar situations. The advocates act as a trusted source of hope, help to build self-esteem, and bring mutual understanding to enable people to make decisions and find solutions that positively impact their health.