Aldona Pawluszak joined ReNew Hull in February 2023. Through her role as EU Navigator, in just 10 months she has transformed the relationship between EU nationals experiencing homelessness, and the various services that can support people. The largest community she works with is Polish, using her native language – but as she also speaks Russian, Aldona extends her outreach to the city’s Lithuanian, Latvian and Russian rough sleepers, amongst others.
While Aldona is focused on building relationships with people experiencing homelessness, once she has identified other issues, she can “navigate” people through the relevant teams. This might involve helping them apply to the EU Settlement Scheme or for benefits, ensuring that they have the correct documents. She can develop a joint support plan or refer them to support services.
Most importantly, she says, “it all needs to be done in a person-centred way, using a trauma-informed approach. Because if a person is a homeless, there is always something going on underneath.”
Helping services to help others
Not only does Aldona support EU nationals to navigate healthcare, housing, probation and benefits systems, but she helps the people within these systems to better understand the people they are serving, too.
“They are more than happy that there is somebody who can help them understand the service users’ needs,” she says.
Aldona cites the example of a homeless Polish man who kept returning to a hospital foyer despite being told he could not sleep there. “The other services said it was very difficult for them to understand what was going on with this gentleman because of a language barrier. Once I started to talk to him, I realised that he had serious issues because he was struggling with memory. He kept repeating himself. It was very easy for me, because I’m Polish speaking, to notice there was something underneath. It wasn’t that he didn't want to obey the rules.”
With Aldona’s support, the man is now in the process of being diagnosed. But she is aware that many serious issues can be overlooked, even if translation is on hand. “If you call for the interpreter during one appointment, it's not going to show everything. You need to develop a relationship with a service user to know him or her better and then you will be able to notice what's really going on.”
Beyond the language barrier
Cultural differences can extend beyond a lack of shared language. Over the past year, Aldona and her colleagues have identified less obvious barriers that may prevent EU nationals from seeking support.
“One day I was on an outreach with our mental health nurse, Beth, and we approached a person sleeping rough. Beth started engaging with him and he totally ignored her. I thought to myself, let's just say a few words in Polish. Once he heard Polish language, he was alert in a minute.”
“He decided to engage with me and with her as well, because his English was really good. He didn't need an interpreter, but just because I was there as a Polish-speaking person, he just decided, oh, why not. And Beth could then ask him all the questions she needed to go through.”
This reluctance to engage can be due to deep-rooted cultural experiences, Aldona explains. “In post-communist countries: no one believes in the system. Just keep away from any offices because it can be dangerous; you can end up in prison.”
Her compassion and quiet encouragement are helping to dispel these negative perceptions. “If a service user has got support, they suddenly start to believe in the system. If the news spreads that it's actually the opposite way round [to their home country], then people are encouraged to approach ReNew or Hull City Council, because they've seen that their friend, or the friend of a friend, has succeeded.”
Word is indeed spreading around Hull about Aldona’s work, and the homeless community is now doing its own informal outreach.
“Sometimes they give me information that they’ve seen a new person sleeping rough. Other times they physically bring this person to me, saying, ‘he's rough sleeping as well.’ I ask, ‘where are you sleeping? What happened? Do you have status, do you have some benefits?’ Things like that.”
This means Aldona’s role has gradually shifted indoors. While initially she spent most of her time outside, “now that people know that I'm here, it's like 50/50.”
Growing cultural competence
Broader misunderstandings around EU nationals and homelessness persist, and Aldona works to tackle these. “I talk a lot with my colleagues around the cultural differences. Lots of people came here for a new start, but the trauma… you cannot leave it in your home country. It always sticks to the person. So it's not only about unwise decisions; I always say – everybody is a human being.”
Cultural understanding is important, says Aldona, because “you will be able to notice hidden homelessness better, and to dig into EU national rough sleepers’ issues, because they try to avoid being seen. EU nationals are a pretty big number in the UK, so it is good from the authority’s perspective to get their trust.”
Believing in people
The responses from service users are a real highlight. “Some of them keep me updated all the time, even if I'm not working with them anymore,” says Aldona. “For example, if they are in a Hull City Council flat, referred by housing a solution lead, and their health is stable now. They keep me updated every single week, texting me or phoning me, ‘I did this, I did that, I'm fine, I'm still on my way to recovery.’”
“It's so nice and I still respond to them, ‘I still keep my fingers crossed for you. I believe in you.’ They somehow believe in words I say. That's all you need sometimes, if you doubt in yourself: a different person who believes in you.”
Find out more
- You can read more about the EU Navigator project, and our wider work around homelessness, in our 2024 Annual Report.
- If you or someone you know is at risk of homelessness, click here to see our accommodation and housing advice.
- Read more about how to help rough sleepers during cold weather.