Ida’s placement at Hounslow Reach: gaining hands-on experience
19 August 2025
Social work student Ida Meyer reflects on her placement with our Hounslow Reach service and what she gained from the experience
This spring, Ida, a social work student from Sweden, joined Thames Reach’s Hounslow Reach service for a 17-week placement as part of her degree. The team at Hounslow Reach supports people in the London Borough of Hounslow who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, helping them to stabilise their situation through advice, advocacy and one-to-one support.
For Ida, the placement was an opportunity to gain practical experience in a new setting. “I’ve been wanting to move [to England], so I started to look around for organisations and I came across Thames Reach,” she said. A positive review from a former student at her university who had previously joined the organisation gave her the extra encouragement to apply.
The placement started with observation and training. During her first month and a half, Ida focused on understanding how the UK benefits system works and shadowed experienced employees during visits. “It was challenging learning about all the different benefits and how the British system works,” she said, “but everyone was really helpful.”
As she gained confidence, Ida took on a caseload of her own. Over the course of the placement, she supported five people, working more independently while always having guidance when needed. She credited colleague Vadim in particular for the support he gave throughout. “I received so much guidance and support from everyone in the office,” she said. “It’s one of the best work environments I’ve ever experienced.”
Ida also had the opportunity to try other aspects of the service, including taking calls from people seeking advice and support, which gave her a fuller picture of how the service operates.
The experience had a strong impact both personally and professionally. Ida had previously been interested in working with children and families, but her time at Hounslow Reach shifted her perspective. “I got really interested in working with adults,” she said. “Mostly I’d only learned theoretically about social work, but there I really got to experience what it is practically.”
When asked what she found most rewarding, Ida said it was seeing the impact of her support on the people she was working with. “Helping them achieve their goals—especially when they accept your help and start working towards it themselves—was definitely very rewarding.”
Ida will be returning to London for a few months in November, and she looks forward to volunteering again with Thames Reach. She also hopes to return to the UK long-term to work in the sector after her graduation next year.
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Whether you’re a student looking for a placement, someone keen to volunteer, or interested in developing a corporate partnership and supporting people out of homelessness, we’d love to hear from you.
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