ShelterCare Support Worker, Days

House of Friendship•Waterloo, ON

6d•CA$23 - CA$29•Onsite

About The Position

At House of Friendship, we are seeking a dedicated ShelterCare Support Worker to join our Housing Services team. This role is part of the ShelterCare model, providing 24/7 on-site support and integrated housing and health services to individuals experiencing homelessness. The primary goal is to help men experiencing homelessness secure permanent housing, improve their health and wellness, and develop the life skills necessary for program success and successful transition to 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 incident reporting, harm reduction, fire prevention, privacy and confidentiality, safe substance use onsite, restrictions and restorative practices, and storage of personal belongings.
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 are 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.
Maintain a high level of professional accountability and integrity in managing data (e.g. HIFIS, daylogs, support notes) and any required work involving database entry.
Demonstrate 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 service excellence and organizational culture.
Clean up bodily fluids/waste to ensure a clean and hygienic environment for all.
Witness and respond to crisis situations.
Confidently support conflict de-escalation while addressing behavioral concerns to ensure effective mitigation of risk.
Contribute to a culture of belonging and connection where each person is valued.
Work collaboratively to effectively mitigate risk and create an environment that is physically and psychologically safe for participants, staff, and partners.
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.