ShelterCare Support Worker (Weekdays, Nights)

House of Friendship•Waterloo, ON

7d•CA$23 - CA$29•Onsite

About The Position

At House of Friendship, we are driven by a mission to make a difference in our community, serving and supporting individuals with compassion, inclusion, justice, dignity, and hope. We are seeking a ShelterCare Support Worker to join our Housing Services team. This role is part of the ShelterCare model, providing 24/7 support and housing services to individuals experiencing homelessness. The ShelterCare Support Worker will collaborate within an interdisciplinary team to assist men experiencing homelessness in finding permanent housing. This position involves supporting individuals in enhancing their health, wellness, and life skills necessary for success in the ShelterCare program and their transition to stable housing. A trauma-informed, person-centered, and housing-first approach is central to all interactions, both individual and team-based.

Requirements

Aptitude for accurate and objective note keeping and data entry
Strong oral and written communication skills
Commitment to a trauma-informed and strength-based approach to supporting people
Very good oral and written communication skills
Ability to handle crisis situations in a calm and collaborative manner
Awareness and support of harm reduction approaches and providing harm reduction supplies as needed
Comfortable responding to emergency situations and providing First Aid/CPR when applicable
Strong relationship management skills and the ability to engage in meaningful conversations to develop rapport with individuals
Two year post-secondary education in a related field of study (i.e. social services, social work, addictions, mental health, community development etc.)
Experience providing individualized support services
Experience of homelessness or relating with people experiencing homelessness
Experience of working with those who have experienced mental health challenges, addictions and trauma
Commitment to understand and uphold the mission, vision and values of House of Friendship is expected
Maintain connection to your personal reasons for doing this work and how your purpose connects to the mission, vision and values of the organization and program
Commitment to consistently upholding the policies and procedures for the program and organization, even when circumstances make it difficult to do so
Exemplary emotional intelligence, resilience, communication, conflict management and problem solving skills required
Ability to work professionally as a team member with staff, participants and community members
Experience or strong interest in working with diverse and vulnerable populations including people from various cultural backgrounds, income levels, and sensitivity to their needs
Experience with and willingness to continue learning to use an anti-racism, anti-oppressive and trauma informed approach to support work, program design, evaluations of processes and service delivery
Must be dependable, professional, adaptable, a team player, and have an ability to extend hope
Respectful, supportive and engaging approach to persons with physical and/or cognitive disabilities, addictions, trauma, mental illness and other life challenges
Excellent organizational and time management skills – attention to detail including skills in logistics, planning and objective note keeping
Liaison with local emergency and mental health services (ie. CMHA, police services, EMS, Here 24/7)
Observation of safe consumption and distribution of harm reduction supplies
Successful completion of a Police Records Check (Vulnerable Sector) required pre-employment.

Nice To Haves

Experience using online communication platforms, such as Microsoft Teams, is an asset

Responsibilities

Engage participants in meaningful support relationships to achieve the goal of obtaining permanent housing, wellbeing stability and a successful stay while accessing ShelterCare
Understand and consistently implement program policies and procedures, including and not limited to: incident reporting, harm reduction, fire prevention, privacy and confidentiality, safe substance use onsite, restrictions and restorative practices, storage of personal belongings, etc.
Work with each new person accessing the program for intake conversations and orientation to the program, including expectations and intended program outcomes of the shelter stay
Engage in rapport building with individuals while doing on the floor tasks such as healthy living space assessments and life skill building
Connect with a caseload of individuals accessing the shelter to develop personalized housing plans to ensure experiences of homelessness as brief as possible
Engage participants in building life skills tied to housing retention, such as navigating community resources to enhance the circle of support and resources pertaining to financial and overall wellbeing
High level of professional accountability and integrity in managing data (e.g. HIFIS, daylogs, support notes) and any required work involving database entry
Attention to detail and integrity in managing the personal belongings of the people we serve, including the signing in and out and management of medications
Act as a first responder to medical emergencies/crisis to ensure participants’ wellbeing and navigate emergency services to respond
Implement work procedures to improve our service excellence and organizational culture
In order to ensure a clean and hygienic environment for all, cleaning up bodily fluids/waste, may, at times, be required
Witnessing and responding to crisis
Confidently support conflict de-escalation while addressing behavioural concerns to ensure effective mitigation of risk
Contribute to a culture of belonging and connection where each person is valued
Assist in program planning, development and improvement through special projects, committee work or ad hoc working groups
Engage in ongoing training and development, including daily on-the-job learning within the program, required courses and learning opportunities provided at an organizational level
Participate in scheduled team meetings, program and organizational town halls
Contribute to the organizational strategic planning process and annual planning processes within the program