Centrepoint
The Customer
Centrepoint is the UK’s leading youth homelessness charity. They provide housing and support for young disadvantaged people in London, Manchester, Yorkshire, and the North East. With over 150,000 young people affected by homelessness each year, they aim to give those in need a positive future and help to eradicate this societal issue.
The Challenge
Centrepoint work very closely with those in need to build trusting relationships. Certain members of Centrepoint’s staff commute alone to short stay hostels supported flats and other sites run by the charity.
This involves working with vulnerable people. With this in mind, Centrepoint turned to Peoplesafe to help safeguard their lone workers should they find themselves in a difficult situation.
As stated by Adam Webb – Head of Housing and Support at Centrepoint “Staff have previously had to raise alarms when they have felt threatened by challenging customers”. This signifies that Centrepoint’s support staff do face issues whilst working, further emphasising Centrepoint’s need for a reliable safety system in place.
The Solution
Centrepoint assessed the specific needs of their workers and took into account the levels of risk that they are exposed to. They decided to utilise Peoplesafe’s Standard Mobile solution.
The service provides employers with a robust, cost-effective personal safety service. It also eliminates the cost of purchasing an additional device and utilises their existing mobile phones. This practicality is a benefit for staff as they can go about their working lives whilst being protected.
Centerpoint’s staff use this solution to log in and out of daily tasks while leaving details of their location and expected duration. If activity overruns, someone will be in touch to verify their safety. Should the user feel their safety has been compromised, they can press the designated SOS speed dial key to summon assistance. The service will record live audio and immediately notify nominated respondents or Peoplesafe’s dedicated Alarm Receiving Centre, where Alarm Controllers will assess the seriousness of the threat and summon the correct level of response necessary.
Adam further added that the “efficiency and reliability of the Alarm Receiving Centre” was one of the most impressive elements of Peoplesafe’s service.
The Benefits
Peoplesafe’s service plays a pivotal role in keeping Centrepoint’s staff protected whilst allowing them to carry out their service safely.
Adam added, “Without Peoplesafe we would not be able to provide a service to some of our most vulnerable service users”. With Peoplesafe’s service in place, lone workers at Centrepoint can carry out their daily tasks knowing that they have a reliable, trusted safety system in place. Now, if an emergency situation was to occur, the lone worker can feel assured that they will be assisted with support, guidance and professional help.
When asked if they would recommend Peoplesafe’s service to other organisations, Centrepoint stated:
“Yes we would recommend Peoplesafe’s service to other organisations, I have introduced it across numerous social care organisations that I have worked with”.
