The Housing Support Worker works alongside tenants and participants and is responsible for providing services to improve tenant mental health, housing stability, unit conditions and for facilitating activities that will build a more harmonious community. Housing Support Worker delivers flexible, innovative and tenant-centered programs and services using mental health recovery principles and applying the harm reduction approach.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

Assess tenants’ needs and provide coaching and practical support or refer to services to fulfil unmet needs.
Provide informal counseling on mental health and/or 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. Advise/educate tenants of their rights and responsibilities.
Using mental health recovery principles, collaboratively develop with tenants’ individualized action plan.
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.
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. Community Development.
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.

ORGANIZATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

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.
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 HLMS committees as required.
Comply with the policies of HLMS 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.

Work Conditions

Exposure to household pests, bodily fluids, cleaning chemicals and some smoking environments.
Working hours are 35 hours per week. On occasion, must be able to work outside of regular office hours.
Requirement to travel to and work from other HLMS locations as required.

Job Types: Full-time, Fixed term contract
Contract length: 7 months

Pay: $54,963.27 per year

Flexible language requirement:

French not required

Schedule:

8 hour shift
Monday to Friday

Work Location: In person

Houselink & Mainstay Community Housing

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