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About the Role

The Housing Support Worker provides services to improve tenant mental health, housing stability, and unit conditions, while fostering a harmonious community. This role utilizes mental health recovery principles and a harm reduction approach to deliver flexible, tenant-centered programs and services. The position may involve supervising practicum students or Supportive Employment Program participants.

Responsibilities

• Assess tenants’ needs and provide coaching, practical support, or referrals to fulfill unmet needs.
• Provide informal counseling on mental health, addiction, interpersonal relationships, life skills, food security, and meaningful activities using non-judgmental, recovery, and harm reduction approaches.
• Provide warm referrals to other community services and/or health services and collaborate with these service providers.
• Provide advocacy services to tenants for their service or benefits rights.
• Support families or refer to services regarding interpersonal relationships, childcare, education, Children’s Aid Society involvement, and family court issues.
• Prevent and de-escalate crises.
• Contact tenants regularly and promote their wellness and safety, including wellness checks.
• Collaborate with partner service providers and coordinate care and system navigation for housing stability.
• Work in coordination and collaboration with other departments (Property Services and Finance).
• Provide after-hours support services to tenants on a rotational basis.
• Encourage independent self-reliance of tenants through referral to services and resources in the community.
• Facilitate rollover of housing units and prepare basic furniture.
• Facilitate unit viewing and/or interviews.
• Orient and welcome new tenants to their unit, building community, and services, advising/educating tenants of their rights and responsibilities.
• Collaborate on and develop tenants’ individualized action plans using mental health recovery principles.
• Collect income verification documentation and assist tenants to complete their income verification forms.
• Remind tenants to report changes in their household composition or family income.
• Encourage tenants to participate in committees and the larger community.
• Provide eviction prevention informal counseling, coaching, and/or practical support to address rent arrears, behaviour, fire safety, illegal behaviours, and unit condition issues including hoarding and pest infestation.
• Inspect housing units and safety equipment annually or more frequently if there are unit condition issues.
• Issue warning letters to address tenancy issues that may lead to eviction.
• Act as agent of the landlord, make and implement rent or behavioural agreements with tenants and monitor them.
• Organize and facilitate group activities and community events, such as building meetings, life skills programs, meal programs, social recreation programs, and organizational events.
• Encourage tenants to improve overall building environments such as cleanliness, prevention of trespassers, personal safety concerns, noise reduction, fire safety, and physical appearance.
• Inform tenants and encourage their participation in organizational and community activities.
• Identify and encourage tenants to pursue leadership opportunities.
• Encourage tenants to become members of the organization.
• Write notes and incident reports for tenants into Information Software Databases (Treat & Yardi).
• Maintain necessary documentation for tenancy management and workplace inspections.
• Facilitate and document monthly tenant meetings.
• Maintain confidentiality and obtain consents when sharing information except in emergency situations.
• Maintain accurate records of cash advances.
• Appear as a representative of the landlord and a witness at Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board hearings.
• Provide shelter or alternative housing information to tenants being evicted.
• Educate tenants on the move-out process and inspect units prior to tenants’ moving out.
• Liaise with external landlords on advocacy, maintenance, and support around tenancy issues.
• Respond to all calls forwarded from Tiger Tel (Neighbours’ after-hours call center) to the dedicated Emergency After-Hours cell phone.
• Attend to after-hours emergencies including fires/floods, tenants passing away, respond to calls from emergency services (fire, ambulance police), tenants in distress, and tenant health emergencies.
• Assist Property Service On-Call staff in the event that they are attending a unit or building and the tenant is in distress or not providing access to the unit.
• Refer tenant requests, outside of approved emergencies, to the appropriate staff or process during regular business hours.
• Conduct tenant wellness checks when requested by tenant family members or support agency staff.
• Assess calls received by SSD on call for lock-out and lock-change requests.
• Provide tenant access to the unit in situations where the tenant is locked out and the key is inside the unit.
• Understand and perform duties and responsibilities in accordance with The Emergency After Hours Manual.
• Be knowledgeable about and act within relevant legislation including the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Ontario Human Rights Code, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), Residential Tenancies Act (RTA), Mental Health Act, Child and Family Services Act, Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA), Housing Services Act, and Ontario Fire and Building Codes.
• Model the organizational values, policies, and professional ethics and demonstrate commitment to the strategic direction.
• Demonstrate active support for organizational direction and priorities in own actions.
• Proactively engage in program and organizational change activities.
• Model and promote a culture where everyone is accountable for making sure decisions and goals are met and projects/tasks are completed.
• Identify and remove barriers to service excellence.
• Demonstrate personal commitment and culture to wellness.
• Embrace and demonstrate Neighbours values in your actions.
• Participate in a work culture of positive thinking, initiative, and creativity.
• Commitment to improve professional knowledge to recognize trends and issues and deal with them effectively.
• Develop and maintain collaborative working relationships with allied community agencies and professionals and participate in community committees and internal Neighbours committees as required.
• Comply with the policies of Neighbours including those pertaining to the confidentiality of client information.
• Represent the agency in a positive manner with clients, colleagues and the community at large.
• Attend regular supervision meetings with the Support Manager for the purpose of reviewing work expectations and performance evaluation.

Requirements

• An undergraduate degree in Social Work, Social Services, or related fields.
• Minimum 3 years’ experience in serving people living in poverty who have experienced homelessness and/or are precariously housed and have mental health and/or addiction issues.
• Ability to travel to housing sites and community service providers’ facilities.
• Have an eye for cleanliness and ability to perform light housekeeping duties.
• Ability to lift, move, and store objects up to 20lbs.
• A successful police record check is required as a condition of employment.

Skills

• Excellent communication (listening, verbal, and written)
• Interpersonal skills
• Problem-solving skills
• Life skills coaching
• Budgeting skills
• Conflict resolution skills
• Crisis prevention/intervention skills
• Knowledge of Mental Health Recovery Approach
• Knowledge of Harm Reduction principles
• Knowledge of Residential Tenancies Act
• Knowledge of Mental Health Act
• Knowledge of Ontario Human Rights Code
• Knowledge of Personal Health Information Protection Act
• Knowledge of Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act
• Knowledge and experience working with individuals facing multiple barriers
• Knowledge and experience working with diverse communities
• Strong cultural competency
• Socially inclusive practices
• Ability to work independently
• Ability to work in a team environment
• Knowledge of community resources
• Ability to make appropriate referrals
• Competent with Microsoft Outlook, Word, & PowerPoint
• Competent with virtual meeting platforms
• Competent with online information searches
• Knowledge in Rent-Geared-to-Income Rent Administration (asset)
• Knowledge in Ontario Common Assessment of Need (OCAN) (asset)
• Ability to work flexible hours including on-call, evenings and weekends as required.

Location

• Onsite

Work Type

• Full-time
• On-call

Experience Level

• Minimum 3 years experience

Education Level

• Undergraduate degree in Social Work, Social Services, or related fields

Salary/Compensations

• Hiring Rate: $31.11 per hour

About the Company

• Neighbours Community Homes is an existing vacancy.