After identifying the clients key issue(s) you have determined that signposting to another service is appropriate. 

Why might you do this? 

You might choose to signpost your client to many different services for a variety of reasons. But here we are going to look at the following example from the start of the toolkit and the reasons for why you might signpost this client.

“I lost my job a month ago and I don’t know what to do, I’ve got no money for food or rent and it’s making me feel really rubbish about myself to the point where I don’t get up until midday” 

We identified the following key issues:

  • Employment - Is there an employment issue here? You might need to check that this was legal. 
  • Benefits - Is this person entitled to benefits?
  • Mental Health - This person disclosed they are experiencing mental health challenges.
  • Money/Debt  - Does this person have rent arrears or any other debts because they have no money?

All of the following Key Issues can be researched on the Ask Us recognised websites. 

We now need to check your capacity as a worker and as an organisation.

Employment - If there is no issue around them losing their job and this was legal this might not need signposting. But you should always check. If the client does need employment advice, signpost. 

Benefits - Is this person entitled to benefits? If so can they make the claim themselves or do they need more specialist support? If they do, they will need signposting to an appropriate advice service. 

Mental Health - The client is experiencing mental health issues; they would need to be encouraged to speak to their GP or self refer to a current Mental Health therapy provider. This is signposting. 

Money/Debt - This person currently has no money, they could have rent arrears or could need help to negotiate with creditors for payment holidays. They would need to be signposted to money advice services. 

Remember managing expectations when signposting a client to a service or organisation is vital.

What does effective signposting look like?

  • The client has everything they need to access the service you’ve signposted to.
    This involves: 
    The address for the service (If a physical location)
    Map detailing how to get there
    Contact details (if appropriate) 
    Online access (If signposting to online services)
    Details of where to access online services (library, drop in centre eg.)
    or online access as well as information on how to get there. 
  • You’ve used the most up to date information about the service you’ve signposted to.
  • The client meets the criteria for the service you’ve signposted to. 
  • The client knows what to ask for when they access the service you’ve signposted them to (see section ‘preparing clients for advice’)

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I feel like when I have someone to talk about it I can keep trying and finding a new way even though it’s so hard… I feel a lot more confident now that I have been to an appointment myself and I’ve been able to sort some things out by myself [that I was avoiding] like my doctor’s appointments”