Addiction Outreach Worker

STREET HAVEN AT CROSSRDS•Toronto, ON

11d•CA$63,877•Onsite

About The Position

Street Haven at the Crossroads is seeking a compassionate and skilled Addiction Outreach Worker to provide critical support to women facing mental health and addiction challenges. Working within a client-centered and trauma-informed framework, this role assists clients in meeting their recovery goals through pre- and post-treatment support, as well as individual counseling. The Addiction Outreach Worker helps reduce barriers to service and meets clients where they are, supporting women experiencing housing instability, homelessness, and active substance use through practical, nonjudgmental harm reduction supports in community and shelter settings. The role involves developing and delivering programs, engaging in advocacy, referrals, coordination with other service providers, and providing group and one-to-one therapy. Ongoing support includes assessment, treatment planning, strengthening life skills, supporting safer use practices, overdose prevention and education, wellness planning, and connections to housing and community-based supports.

Requirements

Post-secondary degree or diploma in Human Services, Social Work, Addictions, or Mental Health.
Minimum of 2 years of professional experience working in social services or related fields, and/or a combination of relevant education and experience.
Current first aid/ CPR and naloxone training, or willingness to obtain.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with marginalized women facing concurrent disorders would be an asset.
Experience in outreach, shelter services, homelessness response, or harm reduction settings considered a strong asset.

Responsibilities

Works within an inter-disciplinary team, liaising with others to promote a supportive and respectful environment.
Participates as a member in all team functions e.g., program planning, team meetings, case conferences, etc.
Engages in trauma-informed psychosocial assessment with clients.
Ensures flow of critical information, including documentation and shift change, to bring forward issues and occurrences that take place while on shift.
Supports strategies that encourage the involvement of all in providing and developing Street Haven services.
Promotes a mutually supportive environment that emphasizes collaborative approaches and values the contributions of all members, including staff and residents within the in-residence treatment service.
Provides support to clients within Street Haven’s umbrella of programs through addressing addiction, mental health and other trauma-related challenges (i.e., at the shelter).
Based on client and site needs, provides on-site outreach support in the community, residential addictions site, and within shelter and housing programs to promote safety, stabilization, and connection to services.
Supports harm reduction initiatives including education, safer substance use supplies distribution, overdose response preparedness, and referrals to community harm reduction services.
Act as an internal harm reduction resource for the agency, providing guidance, consultation, education, and practical support to staff on best practices, client engagement strategies, overdose response and trauma informed substance use supports.
Providing addictions treatment supports to assist client in maintaining their recovery journey and to assist clients who are awaiting residential treatment.
Travel within the community to meet clients at various locations, including libraries, coffee shops, and other shelter sites.
Coordinate with external agencies and workers to ensure comprehensive and continuous care.
Maintain accurate and up-to-date client records and case notes.
Participate in team meetings and case conferences.
Manage a caseload of clients, providing support through weekly or bi-weekly meetings, either in person or virtually, based on client needs.
Conduct internal and external referrals to shelter programs and community resources.
Offer advocacy and appointment accompaniment for clients.
Provide addiction counseling focused on relapse prevention, harm reduction, goal setting, and overall wellness.
Facilitate psychoeducational groups as needed.
Stay informed about community resources and best practices in mental health and addiction support.
Identifies, intervenes and effectively deals with crisis, conflict situations and emergency situations that arise.
Assesses and supports client personal needs e.g., wellness, nutrition, medical, and/or emotional supports.
Provides telephone counselling to graduated residents (or anyone) calling for support.
Conducts wellness checks and outreach follow up with clients who may be disengaged, at risk or experiencing housing instability.
Provides overdose prevention education and supports, naloxone awareness, safety planning and referrals to community hubs, detox, withdrawal management, or treatment services where appropriate.
Supports clients with basic access including food, hygiene items, clothing, identification, income support and housing navigation.
Uses a nonjudgmental, strengths-based approach to engage clients who may be looking for harm reduction supports, and not ready to engaged in abstinence-based treatment.
Other duties as assigned by your supervisor.
Responsible for the admission, discharge and profile creation on the database for new clients.
Develops and maintains accurate and confidential user of service record keeping accordance with DATIS privacy guidelines and Street Haven policies and procedures.
Maintains accurate real time case notes, client data and other records.
Responsible for tracking and summarizing of statistical data on a quarterly basis.
Keeps track of client referrals, admissions and discharges.
Tracks outreach contacts, harm reduction interventions, community referrals and client engagement outcomes as required.