Responsibilities and abilities

As the Housing Support and Outreach Worker, your role will be to provide individualized support and outreach to young people under the age of 24 who are homeless or at high risk.  Key responsibilities include:

• Establish rapport with young people with complex needs, including those impacted by mental health challenges, substance use, and other barriers
• Provide hands on emotional and practical support to young people to identify housing needs and goals, secure and/ or maintain housing, and navigate challenges with landlords or roommates
• Develop relationships with local housing providers and landlords focused on helping young people obtain and maintain housing, avoid housing loss
• Provide outreach and accompaniment focused on improving housing stability and life skills
• Develop and deliver housing readiness and life skills workshops and programs (such as budgeting, food preparation, cleaning, interpersonal skills), in collaboration with other YAP and Foundry team members
• Hold strong personal and professional boundaries and be able to identify/ manage risk safely
• Maintain comprehensive knowledge of available resources related to housing, homelessness, and young people
• Model positive behaviours and encourage young people to make progress towards their goals
• Participate in community events and activities as indicated

Qualifications

• Two years of work experience with vulnerable populations
• Relevant education (social service diploma or degree, ASIST, Mental Health First Aid, etc.).
• Minimum class 5 driver’s license and reliable vehicle
• Enthusiasm for working with young people and reducing homelessness
• Commitment to low-barrier, non-judgmental and harm reduction approaches
• Demonstrated advocacy, communication, educator, and facilitation skills
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision at times
• Ability to work collaboratively as part of a larger multi-disciplinary team
• Basic computer literacy and administrative skills (record-keeping, statistics, preparing presentations, etc.)
• Physical ability to do the duties required
• Satisfactory Criminal Record and Clear Vulnerable Sector Search
• Three satisfactory professional references

Competencies
In addition to bringing a commitment to YMCA vision and values, and an orientation to service, the candidate should possess the following competencies:

1. Negotiation/Communication/Interpersonal Skills - Able to speak, write, listen, and secure information in a variety of settings. Ability to cooperate with others to achieve results. Ability to create and build relationships inside and outside the organization. Negotiation; advocacy; strong educator and presentation skills
2. Planning/Organizing – Ability to establish a clearly defined and effective course of action for self and others to accomplish short- and long-term goals
3. Initiative/Enthusiasm/Innovation – maintaining a positive focus; a personal belief in the initiative and commitment to its successful implementation; being personable, respected, credible, and work well with peers
4. Community Awareness and Understanding – Demonstrates and promotes a personal understanding of and appreciation for the vision, mission, and values of the organization. Full understanding of both the initiative and the local context
5. Problem Solving – Ability to identify an issue, gathers and processes relevant information, determine possible solutions, selects appropriate responses, and implements and evaluates them.
6. Self-Management – ability to appropriately manage one’s own emotions and strong feelings maintain a calm and tactful composure under a broad range of challenging circumstances; and think clearly and stay focused under pressure. Encompasses self-regulation and mindfulness
7. Teamwork/ Cooperation – ability to work cooperatively and productively with others within and across organizational units to achieve common goals; demonstrate respect, cooperation, collaboration, and consensus-building