APPLICATION FORM

Job Reference:

NSW/DEC15

Applicant Number:

E0010

Closing Date:

12/01/2016 12:00

POST APPLIED FOR:

Night Support Worker

SURNAME: Palanisamy

FIRST Names: Siva Shankar

Home Address:
6 New Row Square
Newmarket
dublin 8
Dublin
8

Address for Communication (If Different)

Home Telephone Number

+353894372217

Work Telephone Number

+353894372217
(will only be used with the utmost discretion)

E-Mail
sivashankarvgs1@gmail.com

Mobile
+353894372217

Referees
A minimum of 2 references will be required, and the reference from your current/most recent employer
should be from your Line Manager.

1st Referee

2nd Referee

Period of Employment

Period of Employment

From: 10/10/2015

To: 31/12/2015

From: 09/06/2014

To: 21/08/2015

Name Karthikeyan

Name Vasanthi Jayakumar

Occupation / Relationship to you Manager

Occupation / Relationship to you Co-ordinator

in Nam Makkal

Address 50 leinster road, rathmines

Address 17, Janakiammal Layout, Nehru Nagar

East, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu India - 641014

Telephone No. +353892451558

Telephone No. +918939902439

Email: karthi.cini@gmail.com

Email: vasanthivgs@gmail.com

May we contact prior to interview? Yes

May we contact prior to interview? Yes

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EMPLOYMENT HISTORY Please start with your current or most recent employment

Name & Address of Current Employer:

Date Commenced:

Date of Leaving:

Notice Period:

Current Salary:

Position Held:
Reason for Leaving:
Duties and Responsibilities:

PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT DETAILS

From/To

Employers Name
and Address

Position Held
Include brief summary
of duties and
responsibilities

Reason for Leaving

10/10/2015
31/12/2015

DaybreakHarolds
CrossDublin

Store Assistant: Open

the shop, till and lottery
machine. Face off
the products, check
the price tags and
refill the stocks in
racks, refrigerators
and cool drinks for
every 20 minutes. Help
customers to find a
product if they couldnt
get the required one
in the store. Take
Contract expired
care of the deliveries
and check the refilling
appropriately. Finally
take the waste for
bailing process. At
closing, sweep and mop
the floor, record the left
over newspapers, clean
the coffee machine,
turn off the lights before
locking the store, make
sure everything is neat,
clean and tidy.

09/06/2014
21/08/2015

Nam Makkal25,
Kalapatti
Road,Civil Aero
Post,CoimbatoreTamil
NaduIndia - 641042

Field Worker:Be
prompt and reliable in
reporting for scheduled
workKeep accurate
record for number of
persons being met
and report supervisor
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Higher Studies

appropriatelyCarry
out assignments
in good spirit by
actively embracing
all religionsProvide
support physically
to move people and
sometimes mentally
cope them upLiaise
with the government
officials for seeking
support for homeless
people to settleAssist
supervisor in preparing
monthly reportsAttend
the scheduled training
and workshops

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Particulars of Voluntary Work

(Maximum 400 words)
During College days, I was a member in NSS (National Social Service) and have performed the
following activities Attended in the WORKING WITH DISABLED workshop and have conducted many
programmes for disabled people.Engage students of primary and secondary school during study
holidays and help them to prepare for their exams and tutor them in their lacking subjectsConduct
awareness campaigns in and around the city for AIDS, CANCER, Cleanliness, Greener Environment
etcActively participated in the Blood Donation CampaignsPerformed Street Acts and educated the
residents for decline of traditional art form of dances in India like Karakattam, Oyil Attam, Myil Attam,
Poi kal Kuthirai and manyVisit Orphanages and Old Age Homes monthly and provide supplements
required

RELATIVES
If you are related to any member of the Board of Directors or any employee of the Depaul
Ireland please give the name and address of the relative, their relationship to you and the post
held by him/her.
No

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Job Reference:

NSW/DEC15

Applicant Number:

E0010

Closing Date:

12/01/2016 12:00

SECTION B: COMPETENCY INFORMATION

THIS IS THE ONLY SECTION OF YOUR APPLICATION FORM THAT WILL BE SEEN BY THE
SHORTLISTING PANEL.
DEMONSTRATE CLEARLY HOW YOU MEET THE CRITERIA BELOW:
EXPERIENCE

Please demonstrate based on your previous experience at least 1 year working in the homelessness
field or another suitably related area, desirably in a residential setting.
The interest towards the society and people have started in me after joining NSS (National Social
Service) as Volunteer during my college days. I learnt that the community I live is the most important
sector of all and needs more and more engagement with them.This approach in me has directed
my inner self towards taking a full time job in "NAM MAKKAL". It mainly concentrates on the
development of people in rural areas, especially accommodating such homeless people for night
stays. During the work, I literally saw people who are poor, weak, illiterate, abandoned by their
families or lost their families living in the streets, roadsides or riversides. We as a team go to the
such areas and speak with the people and understand their situation for living in streets. It is really
dreadful to hear such stories from each one, some cry when I attempt to ask, some may hesitate to
share and even I faced people who shouted at me. I see them beyond their behavior and I could
see their wounds in their hearts which made them to act like that. Once I reached Dublin for my
higher studies, I was homeless for two weeks. I managed to surpass each night dreadfully in each
one of my friend's home. It has given me a deeper understanding of being homeless and later such
experiences turned into confidence and energy and made me stronger than before.I have a clear
understanding why people are thrown out of their homes and their situation and mental state. I
can understand the pain they hold and can console them and counsel. They are from my working
experiences as well as my own experiences here in Dublin. Moreover, I had only 15 months of such
experiences and now am very much eager to join Depaul and work for people here. Though the
language, culture, customs differ widely when compared to India, people and their hearts are one
and same and am sure I could touch their heart with my care and love.

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Please outline any qualification or training you may have that you feel is relevant to this role
The following are the training I have participated which I consider important for the current role of
employment. Working with Disabled - A workshop attended during my college days. The workshop
detailed about the types of disabled persons, reasons for such disability. During the course, we
involved with disable persons to conduct programmes for them and found their ability. Course guide
has explained the difficulties faced by such group in the public acceptance and gathered our support
to fight for that community in terms of equal rights and accessibility. Finally, we are asked to turn
optimistic about them and asked to call as DIFFERENTLY-ABLE instead of DISABLED. Camp in
Rural India - A training organised by NSS and NCC together and we as student troops camped in
the rural areas of the state. We had a great learning of the people's living condition, health status,
understanding of the environment etc. Continuous Training and workshops during my employment
in Nam Makkal:During the employment period in Nam Makkal in India, I was nominated for attending
various training, workshops and guest lectures by eminent social workers. Those training were
predominantly based on the understanding of people's behavior during crisis like bankruptcy,
loss of life, abandons, refugees, homelessness, inner awakening, spiritual growth etc. And also
undertook training for leadership, humanitarian principles, staff safety and protection.

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KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILTIES

Please outline your understanding of harm reduction and low threshold working.
A harm reduction approach focuses on reducing the harm that users cause to themselves and
to their families. It focuses on minimizing the health, personal and social harms associated with
drug-use such as the spread of blood-borne diseases. Harm Reduction has to be cared with nonjudgmental approach. It is the care that allows those who seem unable or unwilling to change
in their behavior patterns. Humility and a willingness to accept people as they are will be the
valuable professional skills. Anything which encourages them and facilitate anything that lessens
harm. It require patience, tolerance and the willingness and ability to work in a stressful situation
dealing with difficult behavior.A calm and consistent approach works best. A low threshold service
looks to maintain services to people who would otherwise not be in a position to access such a
service. Usually this means service users present with a complexity of behaviors that are often
challenging. Low threshold services recognize that quite often service users who are denied access
to services are generally the ones who need it the most.

Please outline your understanding of why people become homeless and the issues they present
with, and what supports can be offered in services to service users with complex needs
Housing is a basic human need. Adequate and appropriate housing is a key component of
establishing and maintaining human wellbeing. Homelessness means sleeping rough, staying in
emergency accommodation, shelters, or temporary bed and breakfast accommodation or staying in
overcrowded accommodation with friends and relatives, when there is nowhere else to go. People
who fall into this category may have insecure housing with a high risk of becoming homeless
because of disability, health or mental problems, economic difficulties inability to manage rent /
mortgage, poverty, inequality, lack of affordable housing, previous experience of homelessness
and/or the threat of violence / abuses.These experiences can leave people severely traumatized,
impacting on their mental and physical health, as well as their ability to trust others and form
healthy relationships. It can also have a effect on their housing situation, making it difficult to live
independently, manage a household, or sustain a tenancy.Services available for the homeless
must be aware of the complexity of people's problems and also respect their right to make their
own decisions. Services can offer soup runs, hostels that cater for low, medium, and high support.
Support housing for those that can no longer live alone, supports to live independently again,
education on safe using practices for drug users, all these services should meet the person where
they are at and try and make their life in some way better in that moment. The most important piece
in all services is to maintain a genuine, open and non-judgmental approach to all service users.

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KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILTIES

Please outline your understanding of risk management principles and any experience you have in
this area.
Risk management is the process of recognizing, classifying and most importantly prioritizing of such
risks. This is generally done in tandem with efforts to monitor, control and mitigate the risks. Sources
of risks can be from both internal and external world. Risks of all kinds should be systematically
identified, evaluated, assessed and managed in order of priority.From my stand point, I look four
areas of risk are relevant for consideration when dealing with people homelessHomeless: Being
homeless itself is a risk. The reasons could be family, social/community pressures, in care, poverty,
or other resource or capability deficits. Self harm/suicide risk: Risk from self harm, intentional injury
or killing oneself, action/behaviours destructive to ones own safety or healthMental Instability: Risk
to self or others because of fluctuating and/or unpredictable mental health functionRisk to others:
Risk of causing harm or danger, or encouraging/involving others in the causing of harm or injury to
others. Once the risk is identified, then agreed support can be put in place to minimize the risk. Such
affected people require a spectrum of services and supports.Risk assessment and management
involves a professional duty of care while working in this area where health needs are balanced
with issues of personal and public safety. Managing risk should not just focus on eliminating risk,
it is about providing a process for ensuring the potential benefits identified are increased and the
likelihood of harms occurring as a result of taking risks are reduced.

Please demonstrate using examples, our ability and understanding of how to respond calmly in a
crisis and use your own initiative to deal with incidents as they arise
In todays fast-paced, get-up-and-go world, crisis situations are bound to happen. From my
experience in Nam Makkal, I have been in some situations that would consider CRISIS situation.
These include managing aggression and medical emergencies. I follow the below in managing a
crisis:Initially I take a moment to figure out whats going on.This also helped to land me firmly on
a chaotic situation to understand. From my own contemplation of the situation, I draw a plan and
allow myself to inculcate the inputs from team as well and try and solve the crisis.From my previous
experience, I understand that I have done a lot of personal reflective work and I am aware of my own
triggers. Most of the time, I try to separate myself out from the situation and look from a bird's eye
view approach and think for the possible solutions and its effective delivery.

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KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILTIES

Please demonstrate using examples from your experience, your ability to work as part of a team
especially your understanding of the importance of team communication
Team play is the most crucial role to act in a working environment. However I see as working with
family. As am from India, Family has more value and so bonding occurs naturally with all whom I
talk. While working in Nam Makkal, My Co-ordinator, Vasanthi, headed all my projects and her sense
of caring and the way she motivates the team was inspirational and strong. Our team has a mixed
culture and each one was from varied background and community. Yet, we stayed, communicated,
worked, helped each other and overcome many shortfalls.One such incident was, we a team of
9 had been appointed to complete a project. Unfortunately, our project head and one of the team
member while reaching the spot met an accident and hospitalized for weeks. As a mitigation, I
was appointed to undertake and complete the work as scheduled. I managed very well by leading
the team for our common objective. Every day, I called upon a meeting before we kick start the
day. Took advice from each team member, addressed their queries, grievances, provided support
and motivated whenever required. Also, I shared my own viewpoints, appreciated individuals
who performed well and encouraged other team members as well. Eventually, we as a team had
successfully completed the said task on time. From that time, I understood the work of team play and
the contribution of each member towards the path of success. I enjoy working with people rather than
doing alone.

Please outline your understanding of the health and safety requirements within a residential setting
working within the homeless sector.
I personally believe that a Clean and Tidy environment has the power to change the person's mood
and mindset. Health and safety is of utmost importance when working with vulnerable people.
This ambiance can strongly bring a good vibes into people. Harm reductions, Low threshold and
homelessness category people are very much benefited and act as indirect treatment. Many
rehabilitation centers now focus on the ambiance greatly for better recovery rates.I also understand
that different facilities are required for different types and levels of procedures are met to ensure
the health and safety standards. For examples, Drug users are to be cared appropriate disposal
of sharps and needled stick to protect them from the injuries. Whereas in women protection, child
safety and protection are constituting a big part of health and safety procedures. In connection to
a residential setting, the impact of neighbors are to be taken into account as from the standards
of health and safety. Proper lighting, heating and other requirements are to be appropriate in the
buildings. Maintenance of buildings like fire protections, burglar alarms, blueprints of the building,
proper sign boards for emergency exits etc are also comes under the safety requirements. On
my personal interrogations into my inner self, I find my mind and body healthy and peaceful when I
live in a place where flowers, light music, good mild scent and filled with colorful (especially yellow,
green and orange) surroundings. My mind works creative and generates more love. Moreover
a deep and sound sleep in such an ambiance can relax my body as well.Also the staff has to
be trained and communicated about the Health and safety standards of the organisation during
induction program

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KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILTIES

Please outline what you feel would be the challenges of working in a residential setting
As a residential set up worker must posses a emotional resilience and the ability to work calmly in
challenging situations. Such staff has to be non-judgmental and deal with conflicting behavior in a
caring and consistent manner by compromising in working hours. It is important to remain constant
contact with all people so as to have a good sense of what is happening in the area. Aggression can
be a challenging factor in residential setting. Staff has to calmly safeguard the person who throws
his anger or frustration.The people in the residential setting have different backgrounds and traumas
so staff has to strike a proper balance between the person cared and staff's inner self to surpass the
problems in daily acts.

Please outline your understanding of the vision, mission and values of Depaul
Depaul Ireland is a leading charity supporting people experiencing homelessness and those at
risk of homelessness. It has made fundamental vision and mission statements and lives it truly.
It cares about the fundamental rights of human beings and recognizes the value and preserves
them. Depaul Ireland support vulnerable people experiencing homelessness. It wants everyone
should have a place to call home and a stake in their community. It supports each individual and
family with the opportunity to fulfill their potential and move forward towards an independent and
positive future. It strives to have its services inclusive rather than exclusive. Finally, Depual strains
to end homelessness in various forms and strongly wants people's right of being recognized as
members of society.

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DECLARATION OF CRIMINAL CONVICTION

Have you ever been convicted of a criminal offence, which cannot be considered
spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders (NI) Order 1978?

No

If yes, please give details below.

FOR INDIVIDUALS APPLYING TO WORK IN RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS OR

IN FLOATING SUPPORT SERVICES, PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING:
Rehabilitation of Offenders (NI) Order 1978 Rehabilitation of Offenders (Exceptions) Order (NI) 1979
1. Because of the nature of the work for which you are applying, these posts are excepted from
the provisions of the 1978 Order. Applicants are, therefore, not entitled to withhold information about
convictions that are for other purposes spent under the provisions of the Order. In the event of
employment, failure to disclose such convictions could result in dismissal or disciplinary action by
Depaul Ireland. Any information given will be treated as strictly confidential and will be considered only
in relation to applicants to which the Order applies.
2. For applicants who may work directly with our client group, you will be required to give your
consent for a Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults (Access N.I) check. Please note that these
checks are only carried out for preferred candidates.

DECLARATION
I declare that the information I have given is true to the best of my knowledge and that inaccurate
or false information given may result in an offer of employment being withdrawn.
Applicant's Signature: ____________________

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Date: ________________