About the Organization

The qathet Community Action Team is leading a coordinated and centralized response to the toxic drug supply crisis in the City of Powell River and throughout the qathet region. Stakeholders across the region meet monthly to create and develop programming aimed at eliminating fatalities due to overdose. The qCAT's non-profit lead is Lift Community Services of qathet Society.

Lift Community Services focuses on helping all people thrive in the qathet region by reducing social inequities and by providing support and advocacy for anyone who needs it. Our vision is a welcoming, inclusive, and diversity-affirming community that is free of poverty and full of heart. At Lift, we believe a thriving, sustainable community comes from a collaborative, equitable, future-focused approach.

Our programs and services include employment services, supportive housing and homeless outreach, temporary shelter services, literacy programs, health services, outreach, immigrant services, adult and family on-demand support. We also provide community leadership and development in overdose response planning, poverty reduction planning, and other projects that develop a more connected and resilient community. Lift operates many resource centres in our community, including the local WorkBC Centre, the Community Resource Centre, qathet Complex Care Housing, the iOAT Clinic, the Family Place, and the Dr. Elsie Paul Literacy Centre located at the Powell River Public Library.

Lift Community Services serves a diverse community, and our goal is to build a team reflects that diversity. People of diverse backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives are encouraged to apply.

Opportunity

In response to ongoing toxic drug supply injury and deaths, Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), Lift Community Services and the qathet Community Action Team are piloting a peer2peer program to assist people in the region to access Opioid Agonist Therapy (OAT) medications, including delivery, driving, and follow-up medical appointments, advocacy, and occasional ER visits with folks who require OAT after an overdose or toxic drug event.

This part-time position is for a person with lived experience of recovery, and/or pain management with OAT to build their own capacities in support work, motivational interviewing, psychological safety and peer-to-peer health navigation. Our goal is to support people to utilize their lived experience with substance use and recovery to become qualified and seasoned support workers.

Overview

• Hours: 20 hours/week
• Shifts: Rotating schedule covering 7 days/week, 8am-5pm - days of work are candidate dependent
• Hourly Wage: $23.15 to start, on a 5-step wage scale
• Benefits: Optional competitive extended health benefits and an up to 4% matching RSP plan
• Time off: 3-week's Vacation, 2-weeks sick Leave, 1-week Paid Time Off
• Reports to: Peer2Peer Coordinator
• Start Date: ASAP
• Closing Date: Open until filled
• Questions? Contact: Cynthia Leighton, Community Health Services Manager, [email protected]
• To Apply: Submit a resume and cover letter

Key Tasks and Competencies

• Build and maintain strong community partnership relations
• Develop and maintain relationships with program participants
• Intake and orient new participants
• Working with support team in order to ensure clients are meeting 90-day compliance with OAT
• Liaising with client care teams to assist with OAT compliance goals.
• Scheduling clients' doctors visits and support needs
• Complete and maintain all documentation regarding the program and client interactions

Qualifications

• Lived experience of opioid agonist therapies (methadone, suboxone, sublicaid, other substance use treatments) is a bona fide requirement of this position
• Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment
• Ability to hand over information to colleagues in a responsible and respectful manner
• Holding people's confidentiality in the centre of service is key
• Understanding the intricacies and nuances related to working alongside people who use substances
• Ability to track appointments, complex needs and assist people with meeting their goals
• Demonstrated ability to recognize and overcome barriers specific to rural and remote settings
• Relationship building with community support partners is essential
• Strong working knowledge of harm reduction, OAT therapies and recovery models that are inclusive
• Experience working in pressurized environments
• Specialized knowledge relating to Opioid Agonist Therapy pathways, Toxic Drug Supply Public Health Emergency, the BioPsychoSocial model of care and Motivational Interviewing training is an asset

• Communications skills such as writing and reporting

• Ability to coach and build capacity in clients to help them reach recovery goals
• Ability to respond appropriately to crisis and problem solve in moments of pressure

Experience

• A strong working knowledge of support work related to people who use drugs
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively in a team environment

• Experience and/or a desire to working alongside people with lived and living experience of substance use

Other

• A satisfactory criminal record check, including a vulnerable sector check, is mandatory at time of job offer.

We appreciate all applications, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

As an inclusive employer, we would like to make the recruitment process as accessible as possible. Please contact us to let us know how we can best support you.

We live and work on the homelands and territories of the Tla'amin People. We honour the land, the Tla'amin People, and their treaty and continually seek to strengthen our relationship and responsibilities to them as guests in the territory.