• Skärmbild 2025-03-28 160534

    Cara Gibbons

    Focus Ireland

    Cara.Gibbons@focusireland.ie

    Country: Ireland

    Languages: English

    Cara has worked with homeless families, single adults, and children across Focus Ireland’s various housing services in Focus Ireland for over 20 years. Now on the Practice Development team her role involves policy development and supporting the design of a psychological environment based on Housing First and trauma informed philosophies. Cara’s training methodology is based on Freire’s approach emphasising dialogue, critical thinking and social Justice. Cara delivers training on Housing First, trauma and addiction, harm reduction, self-care for staff. Cara has an MA in Social Justice & Public Policy and a Post Grad Cert in Trauma Studies. When not working Cara likes rock climbing and being outside. Cara is currently the lead trainer on the Housing First Europe Hub’s Train-the-Trainer programme.

  • Housing First for Youth Training Guide 2023

    Housing First for Youth, adapted from the Housing First approach, is a rights-based intervention that provide safe and affordable housing, along with age-appropriate support, to address the needs of...

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    Publication

  • Tomáš Novotný - Tomáš Novotný

    Tomáš Novotný

    Spolek PORTAVITA

    Country: Czech Republic

    Languages: Czech

    I started working in 2006 in a Halfway house Chamomile as a social worker and since the year 2013 an educator in a facility for children requiring immediate help in the same organization Chamomile. I did these two jobs at the same time until 2017. After that I started working as a social worker in an Asylum for families with children Hannah, where I worked for 3 years. In 2020, I started as a key social worker in the PORTAVITA Housing First for adults project, where I still work today. Supported persons are mainly single mothers with children, but also complete families. The second project Housing First for Adults is already running at the moment.

  • Upskilling professionals to help end homelessness: introducing the new Housing First diploma in the Netherlands

    In January 2023, we launched the first cohort of a new Housing First diploma course for professionals, based at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. The diploma offers an intensive,...

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    Blog

  • Linkedafb - Skippen Dam

    Peter-Jan Heylenbosch

    Goodmen services - Freelancer

    Country: Belgium

    Languages: DutchEnglish

    Peter-Jan started working in day shelter for homeless people during his studies, combined with working in the crisis shelter and night shelter in the city of Ghent. In 2012, he started his job as a Housing First support worker for the public welfare of Ghent, this project was part of the Belgian Housing First project, funded by the Belgian government. I was then asked by SAM VZW to assist in the Flemish housing first training to provide insights from his daily practice. His interest on Housing First still growing he took part of the Hub’s Train-the-Trainer, followed by the Outreach! Course organized by SAM Vzw Belgium. He still works as a Housing first support worker for the city of Ghent, and provide the Housing First and Outreach! courses for he Flemish region and as a freelance commissioned by SAM vzw Belgium.