“The Wallich employs more than 400 people across Wales and supported more than 7,000 people experiencing homelessness last year, keeping services open throughout the pandemic.
“The nature of our work, and the issues facing the people we support, means that staff are sometimes faced with substance misuse, aggression, violence or threats. It’s a very difficult and challenging, yet ultimately rewarding job.
“We offer a full training package of more than 30 courses, and a 5-day comprehensive organisational induction as well as a local induction and role shadowing for our new staff.
“During the pandemic, we have had to move our formal training online, which has meant we’ve been able to adapt and continue to deliver training in these challenging times.
“The Wallich has a long-standing commitment to the principles of harm reduction, particularly when it comes to substance misuse or other harmful behaviors. We have a robust client substance misuse policy, and training for staff to enable them to deal with the issues.
“Police approved sharps gloves and sharps bins are available at our projects. Naloxone is available where there is someone trained to administer it. We do not have defibrillators at all our buildings, but we do have a list of where they are publicly available in close proximity to our services. Our staff are offered training in emergency first aid, including how to deliver CPR.”
