ShelterCare Support Worker

Overview

At House of Friendship, we believe in what we are doing. We get out of bed each day to make a difference in our community; to walk with and to serve. We are not happy with the status quo. We get energy from ongoing learning and growth. We lead with passion and believe without a doubt that everyone deserves to belong and thrive.

We live and breathe our values of Compassion, Inclusion, Justice, Dignity and Hope. And we have fun!

Sounds pretty great, doesn’t it? It is!

A shelter program that is following the Shelter Care model of providing a place to stay and staff support 24/7. Shelter Care creates opportunities where individuals experiencing homelessness have access to on-site, integrated housing and health supports so they can become healthier and house-exiting the cycle of homelessness for good. The Shelter Care Support Worker will work as a member of an interdisciplinary team to support men experiencing homelessness to secure appropriate permanent housing.

The Shelter Care Support Worker will support individuals in improving their health, wellness, and the life skills needed to be successful in the program Shelter Care program and to successfully transition to housing. A trauma informed person-centered and housing first approach is demonstrated in one on one and team based interactions.

This is a temporary contract position for leave of absence coverage. Expected scheduled hours would be 8:00am to 4:00pm, weekdays. Successful completion of a Police Records Check

(Vulnerable Sector) requiredpre-employment.

• Engage participants in meaningful support relationships to achieve the goal of obtaining permanent housing, wellbeing stability and a successful stay while accessing Shelter Care
• 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
• There is an inherent level of risk, and at times unpredictability involved in the work we do
• We will work together to ensure we effectively mitigate risk in an effort to 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…