Support Worker

Our support workers look after the well-being of people in their daily lives. They help people living with different physical disabilities and mental health needs to live their lives more independently and support them to reach their potential by providing both physical and emotional support.

What does a support worker do?
The day-to-day job of our support workers differs depending on the needs of the person they are supporting. This can include helping people to carry out their daily tasks to take care of themselves, teaching new skills, providing emotional support, and ensuring they are living a fulfilled life.

The role is primarily focused on enabling and supporting people to live their lives as independently as they can. At Lifeways, we support people with a diverse range of needs, including learning disabilities, autism, physical disabilities, acquired brain injuries and mental health needs.

Our support workers work in a variety of settings, including people’s own homes, in health and social care settings such as supported living services or care homes, and out in the community.

What is support work?
Support work involves helping people who require care and support to live as independently as they can. Support work is a very varied engaagement as every person that requires support has individual, unique needs - this means that no two days in support work are the same.

Responsibilities of our Support workers
There are many responsibilities of our Support Workers, including:

• Providing physical support which may include helping with household tasks and personal care.
• Providing emotional support for an individual and their families.
• Supporting and helping with health care needs, including routine checks or administrating medication.
• Encouraging and supporting the development of personal skills through hobbies and interests.
• Teaching life skills, such as shopping, using public transport and paying for bills.
• Working with other healthcare professionals to ensure that all care needs meet the highest possible standards.

Making friends is often difficult for the people we support, and so a key responsibility of support work is promoting and planning meaningful days. This can be supporting people to enjoy their hobbies and interests, helping them to get involved in community groups, or encouraging them to learn a new skill like cooking or painting.

For many people we support, communication is not easy. An important aspect of our engagement is understanding how the person communicates and how others can best communicate with them.