Rohan enjoys the daily variety of working with Roundabout

Roundabout is the South Yorkshire youth homelessness charity that provides shelter, support and life skills to young people aged 16-25 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness in both Sheffield and Rotherham.

Roundabout’s Group Living projects provide accommodation and support for up to 43 young people at any one time, primarily for those leaving care to prepare for independent living.

Rohan is based at the charity’s latest Group Living property which opened close to Rotherham town centre 12 months ago.

The property offers five bedrooms and communal living space as well as two self-contained studio flats with their own facilities.

Rohan admits that he didn’t know anything about Roundabout or its services but as a keen runner he has competed in Sheffield Half Marathon several times, had noticed the Roundabout presence at the event and decided to investigate.

“I’m still quite new to the team but I can already say that I love working here,” he admits.

“I have worked with young people in a lot of different capacities, including Sheffield Children’s Hospital as a support worker in the Outpatient department but this is a very different experience.

“It’s a great opportunity to help young people and that’s what I was drawn to at Roundabout straight away.

“I love building long term relationships that make a difference and you can really see the impact you’ve made.”

Group Living is a 24-hour, year-round project, meaning a pattern of shift work that will often see Rohan working through the night.

“It’s a very varied job, in fact I’d say it’s the most varied job I have ever done,” he admits.

“Just today, I’ve cleaned a bathroom, done some social work and I’ll be gardening with the young people later and I really enjoy the multi-young person leaving the care system, agency aspect of my work too.

“I also like how holistic this job is - we help our young people when they are applying for jobs or for college but you’ll also help them prepare dinner.

“It’s like working in someone’s home but that’s because this is their home and that’s a very important thing to remember.”

The reasons a young person might need the support of Group Living are, he adds, also extremely varied.

“You might be a young person leaving the care system, a refugee or an unaccompanied asylum seeker or another person might be here because of a family breakdown, which is probably the biggest single factor for needing our support.

“The young people living here are mainly 16 to 18 years old and the aim of Group Living is that, by the time they leave us, they are ready to start thinking about independent living.

“I absolutely love it here, I love how varied the work is and by the end of a working day I feel I’ve done everything I can to help - and I want the best for all the young people who live here.”

Roundabout is currently looking for new Group Living Service team members. Anybody interested in applying or who would like further information about the full range of services offered by the charity should visit the Roundabout website at roundabouthomeless.org