Community Health Worker – Homeless Outreach
We are a dynamic community-based health centre promoting social justice and health equity in the Regent Park neighbourhood and Downtown East area of Toronto. We operate out of several locations and provide a wide variety of services including primary health care, chiropody, physiotherapy, health promotion, social work, community health, immigrant and refugee services, harm reduction and homeless programs, Pathways to Education, infant and child development programs, parenting programs, and youth services. We currently have the following opening:
Job Summary
The Community Health Worker – Homeless Outreach works with people who are homeless and under-housed in the downtown east of Toronto to deal with issues of health, poverty and homelessness. The Community Health Worker – Homeless Outreach provides services to address social determinants of health with a human rights focus utilizing harm reduction, health promotion, community engagement, community development, social justice, trauma-informed and anti-racist/anti-oppressive (ARAO) strategies. The work is aimed at assisting homeless people in gaining access to appropriate health and social services and developing and implementing strategies that address these issues.
This is a Full-time Contract position, until March 31, 2025.
Staff will have the opportunity to participate in HOOPP (Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan).
This is a bargaining unit position with OPSEU Local 5115.
Salary
Hours
Application Deadline
Responsibilities Include
Outreach:
- Conduct street outreach and outreach to drop-ins and other centres/agencies used regularly by people who are homeless and under-housed in Downtown East Toronto;
- Utilize low threshold and client centred strategies to assist clients to gain access to services and supports, onsite at RPCHC and externally
- Provide information and referrals to health and social service supports to service users
- Engage with service users and program participants, providing harm reduction education, materials and counselling related to safer drug use/safer sex supplies, disposal of used equipment, reducing risks of overdose and transmission of Hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS
Community Capacity Building:
- Engage with this community to access appropriate resources around health, poverty and homelessness
- Work collaboratively with the community, community partners and stakeholders to develop and implement action plans that address their issue around health, poverty and homelessness
- Develop, plan, implement and evaluate community-based initiatives by applying health promotion strategies such as community mobilization, advocacy, healthy public policy and health education
Advocacy:
- Work with other Regent Park Community Health Centre staff to improve the services we provide to homeless and under-housed people in our area;
- Participate in coalitions and groups that seek to influence public policy and engage in advocacy and social action related to homelessness, harm reduction and other relevant social justice issues
Counselling and Case Management:
- Provide information/referral, advocacy, supportive counselling and case coordination to individual clients who have concerns about housing, financial, health, self-care, substance use and mental health, and other issues
Qualifications and Skills Required
- Post-secondary education in social work, community work, health promotion, adult education and/or equivalent in life experience
- A minimum of 3 – 5 years of community based experienced working with marginalized and homeless populations who experience multiple systemic barriers
- Proven experience engaging in outreach and low threshold models of engagement and support
- Proven case management and system navigation experience
- Program coordination experience, with a specific understanding of harm reduction, is considered an asset
- Extensive experience in conflict resolution and crisis intervention
- Experience in training and delivering safer sex and safe drug use information and overdose prevention information and support, including Naloxone
- Working knowledge of HIV/AIDS and HCV from a harm reduction perspective
- Awareness of and sensitive to the health issues of a diverse community.
- Demonstrated interpersonal, decision making, conflict management, critical thinking, and organizational skills.
- Able to work collaboratively within and across teams.
- Strong oral and written communication skills.
- Proficiency in the use of computer technology and various software applications.
- Knowledge of the Regent Park area and issues affecting the community.
- Must have a drug and sex positive attitude.
- Must be available for weekend and/or evening shifts.
- Must have the most up to date vaccine for the protection of clients and staff.
Regent Park CHC is committed to equity in our hiring and employment practices. Applications are encouraged from qualified individuals who are Indigenous people, members of racialized communities, individuals of diverse sexual orientation and gender identification, persons with disabilities and others protected under the Human Rights Code as well as individuals with lived experience in the Regent Park community. This is a bargaining unit position within OPSEU Local 5115.
We thank all applicants for their interest in this position, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. RPCHC is committed to developing an inclusive, selection process and work environment. If contacted, please advise the hiring manager if you require any accommodation during the interview process.
To protect the health and well-being of our clients and employees, Regent Park Community Health Centre has adopted a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy that requires all staff, including new employees to have the most up to date vaccine, by a Health Canada approved COVID-19 vaccine. Individuals with valid medical or human rights-based exemptions, will be considered for appropriate accommodation within the policy.
Apply For This Position
Please submit your resume and cover letter by
September 24, 2024
No phone calls, please. We thank all applicants for their interest in this position, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. RPCHC is committed to developing an inclusive, selection process and work environment. If contacted, please advise the hiring manager if you require any accommodation during the interview process.