Part-Time Shelter Support Worker - Community Care; Evening), YWCA Arise REPOST

Employment Type:

Part-Time, Contract
Position Status:
New Position

Work Hours:

21 hours per week (Sunday–Tuesday 3:00pm to 11:00pm)
Salary: $32,921 annually (Level5 prorated), plus comprehensive benefits

Location:

Confidential Address – Downtown Toronto
Contract

Start Date:

June
292026
Contract End Date:
June
282027
Application Internal Deadline:
Monday, June
152026
Application External Deadline:
Wednesday, June
172026

Join YWCA Toronto, where intersectional feminism, community voices, and social justice drive lasting change. We welcome women and gender‑diverse people of all identities into a workplace rooted in equity, collaboration, and inclusion.

Provides supportive, participant‑centred services across YWCA Toronto’s four shelter programs and will be required to work at any shelter location based on operational needs. The incumbent supports women and gender‑diverse people, and their dependents experiencing varying forms of homelessness as well as intersecting social and systemic barriers by promoting dignity, safety, autonomy, and well‑being. This role is designed to collaborate with interdisciplinary staff teams in each program to support high‑quality, integrated services.

Arise Shelter is a 27‑bed emergency shelter for women and gender‑diverse people, with or without dependents, who are fleeing intimate partner violence. The program includes a Transitional Housing and Support Program that provides continued, community‑based support for up to two years after residents leave shelter. Our shelters operate 24/7 and are grounded in feminist principles, trauma‑informed and strengths‑based care, harm reduction, anti‑oppressive practice, transparency, and a spirit of inclusion.

In addition to shelter accommodation, all programs provide nutritious and culturally diverse food, access to health care, crisis intervention, supportive counselling, individualized service planning, clinical and recreational programming, as well as opportunities to engage in advocacy.

• Provide individualized support during program activities, including emotional support, safety planning, de‑escalation, crisis intervention, and brief counselling as needed.
• Assist with meal services by supporting meal set‑up, service, and clean‑up to ensure access to nutritious and culturally diverse food.
• Document program activities, participant engagement, incidents, and outcomes in accordance with organizational and funder requirements.
• Support participants in accessing health care, mental health supports, income assistance, housing services, and other community resources in collaboration with assigned case managers.
• Develop, facilitate, and support group, clinical, recreational, and life‑skills programming across shelter programs.
• Model and reinforce community norms related to safety, inclusion, harm reduction, and mutual respect.
• Accept shift coverage requests via YWCA Toronto staffing phone and transition between shelter sites in a timely and professional manner to ensure continuity of services and operational coverage.

• General knowledge of an academic or technical discipline normally acquired through the completion of a college diploma (e.g., Social Service Work, Community Service Work). Cases for equivalency will be accepted.
• 1‑3 years experience working in a diverse, direct service setting for participants that range from youth to seniors who have experienced impacts of poverty, violence/trauma, mental health/substance use or concurrent disorders and other sources of marginalization or oppression.
• Demonstrated experience in cultivating leadership within groups and developing dynamic and innovative programming.
• Supportive counselling and group‑work approach that is flexible, client‑centred and strengths‑based.
• In‑depth knowledge of the dynamics of gender‑based violence and trauma within an anti‑oppression framework.
• Working knowledge of the Toronto Shelter Standards, Residential Tenancies Act, Mental Health Act and Ontario Human Rights Code.
• Excellent crisis intervention and conflict mediation skills.
• Ability to deliver culturally sensitive…