Housing Stability Worker - Youth in Transition

Choices for Youth Inc. (CFY) is a professional service, youth-focused, non-profit, charitable organization that creates spaces and conversations, and operates programs and social enterprises to help vulnerable youth secure stable housing, employment, and education while improving health and family stability. With a focus on prevention, intervention, and support, we help youth and young families break cycles of poverty and homelessness and transition to healthy, stable, and independent lives. Our Soft Landing & Rapid Rehousing Program is seeking to hire 1 Housing Stability Worker (Supporting Youth in Transition) This is a contractual position until September 2024.

Young people arrive at Choices for Youth (CFY) from all over the province and approximately 50% of the homeless population in St. John’s have arrived in the city within the past 5 years. For youth who are new to the city, arriving alone and without support elevates pre-existing risks while also introducing new ones. Youth who come to St. John’s in seek of services and need specific types of support that they cannot receive in their home communities. Unfortunately, without an adequately resourced and coordinated response from service providers, the first few days of their arrival represent a series of crises as these young people often have nowhere to sleep, no money, no food, and no local networks of support. There is a significant opportunity to embed coordination of rural, remote, and urban services to ensure smoother transitions for the young people we serve.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Housing Stability (HSW) will work in collaboration with the Program Coordinator and the Soft-Landing Team to provide direct individualized supports to deliver meaningful and relevant services for housing and to young people with a focus on youth transiting out of care. The HSW will work in partnership with CFY staff, community-based organizations, and stakeholders to assist in delivering in-home life skills support. The HSW will work in the home and develop individualized support plans with young people to assist in meeting their housing and life skill needs. They will be responsible for ensuring that participants with complex needs are receiving the necessary supports to secure and maintain safe, affordable, and appropriate housing.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Actively work to identify barriers young people face and to support young people to build the skills required to successfully obtain and/or maintain housing.
• Works closely with staff from CSSD to ensure strong communication and teamwork with the Government of Newfoundland
• In conjunction with team members, provide in home support and develop individualized support plans with young people to maintain long term Housing Stability.
• Obtain appropriate consents, information and documentation in order to assess housing needs.
• Advocate on behalf of young people with other service providers, maintaining collaborative working relationships.
• Communicate goals and plans to other team members in order to ensure appropriate supports.
• Assists young people to complete referrals and access relevant community supports.
• Use communication skills to support young people through sensitive issues such as life skills, mental health, tenancy success, addictions, legal matters.
• Conduct home visits to ensure health and safety of tenants.
• Establish collaborative relationship with young people to provide support through coaching, mentoring, negotiating and the utilization of conflict resolution and mediation techniques.
• Interpret and apply the Residential Tenancies Act, policies, and procedures to ensure successful tenancies.
• Develop and maintain records, reports, and statistics necessary for program functions, evaluations, and funding.
• Promote harm reduction and foster harm reduction strategies with young people.
• Advocate on behalf of the young person in navigating the services and systems.
• Participate in program meetings, staff education and act as a resource for other staff.
• Other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• University degree in social services or equivalent and registration with a professional college, if applicable
• Minimum of three years work experience in a social service field
• Three years’ experience working in a supportive housing direct delivery service setting with young people experiencing the impacts of poverty, homelessness, violence, trauma, mental health, addictions, or concurrent disorders.
• Experience working with youth transiting out of in care or in care considered an asset.
• Extensive knowledge of the non-profit sector and youth homelessness issues
• Comfortability working one to one in the home of young people which includes experience with pest control issues as well as animals that may be living in the home.
• Current Standard First Aid/CPR and ASIST training.
• Active drivers’ licence and access to a vehicle is required.
• A satisfactory certificate of conduct and vulnerable sector check is required.

WORK HOURS

The position will work 37.5 hours per week and flexibility in work hours will be required to accommodate youth and program needs and to accommodate higher work volumes and organizational requirements.

COMPENSATION

The salary for this position is $45,669.00 – $50,368.50 annually. Choices for Youth offers a competitive compensation package, including a health and dental program, employer-matched RRSP, and four weeks’ vacation to qualifying employees.

HOW TO APPLY

Please submit your cover letter and resume with HSWYIT-12-2023 in the subject line, explaining how you meet the criteria.

Reference ID: HSWYIT-01-2024

Application Deadline: January 31st, 2024.

Choices for Youth (CFY) strives towards a culture of inclusion and empowerment, one where there’s a sense of belonging and safety while prioritizing diversity across the organization, including in its Board of Directors composition, employment practices, staff, policies, programming, and services. CFY values lived and living experience and invites everyone interested to apply for available opportunities. CFY actively seeks applications from Indigenous Peoples; members of Black, racialized, and other equity-seeking and/or religious, cultural, and other communities; members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community; people with disabilities; and people from a variety of social and economic backgrounds. Should you require support or accommodation(s) to better enable your ability to participate in the employment or recruitment process, please let us know at any point. This information will be kept confidential.

To view all current job postings, please visit http://www.choicesforyouth.ca/join-cfy.

Job Types: Full-time, Fixed term contract
Contract length: 8 months

Salary: $45,669.00-$50,368.50 per year

Benefits:

• Casual dress
• Dental care
• Disability insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Extended health care
• Life insurance
• On-site parking
• Paid time off
• RRSP match
• Tuition reimbursement
• Vision care
• Wellness program

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday

Education:

• DCS / DEC (preferred)

Experience:

• supportive housing: 3 years (preferred)
• work in a social service field: 3 years (preferred)
• working with youth transiting out of care: 1 year (preferred)

Licence/Certification:

• certificate of conduct and vulnerable sector check (preferred)
• Standard First Aid/CPR (preferred)
• ASIST training (preferred)
• Active drivers license and access to a vehicle (required)

Work Location: In person

Application deadline: 2024-01-31