A day in the life: Sarah’s student placement

Sarah joined us to complete her student placement as a part of her Social work Studies at Deakin University. Her placement was at our South Yarra site in the Young Adults Program which supports people aged 16-25yrs to access and maintain housing and work towards long term housing options.

Here’s what she had to say of her time with us:

“I was delighted to have my student placement at Launch Housing and looked forward to learning more about the housing sector and how it operates.

During my placement I shadowed support workers to gain an understanding of their roles and the Young Adults Program. I also had the opportunity to get involved in managing client caseloads, under the supervision of a support worker. I was also involved in the YOLO (You Only Live Once) program, which aims to build the confidence and educational skills of young people, to help them secure employment.

Before I started my placement, I had a very basic understanding of homelessness, the housing sector and some of reasons why people sleep rough. However, during my placement I realised that homelessness is so much more than rough sleeping and can affect anyone, at any point in their life.

There are both personal and educational rewards from doing a student placement at Launch Housing. Personally, I’ve really enjoyed having the opportunity to engage with young people and to hear their life stories, which have been fascinating. It’s also been a wonderful experience to be part of a dynamic team of people who are incredibly passionate about their work and advocating for young people.

Educationally, a student placement is a perfect way to gauge if that particular field aligns with your interests. It also provided me with the opportunity to build on my skills and to implement the theories I’ve learnt through my studies into practice.