JOB POSTING

JOB TITLE: Community Harm Reduction Peer Worker(CHRPW)

CLASSIFICATION: Support Worker

JOB TYPE: Term and Casual positions available

DEPARTMENT: Harm Reduction

REPORTS TO: Team Lead NESI

JOB TERM: September 23rd to March 31st, 2025

PAY RANGE: $21.73-$26.16/per hour

Benefits: 4% in lieu of vacation, other leave entitlements and benefits.

DEADLINE TO APPLY: September 20th, 2024, at 11:59pm

HOURS OF WORK: Day, Evening and Weekend.

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About us:

We are Somerset West Community Health Centre (SWCHC), a non-profit, community-governed organization that serves over 18,000 clients annually. Established in 1978, SWCHC provides a wide range of health care services such as primary health care, health promotion, community development, mental health, and harm reduction. We are deeply connected to the communities we serve and committed to removing barriers to accessing services for people who are vulnerable because of their age, income, ability, sexual orientation or gender identity, and language or culture.

SWCHC strives to ensure that our team reflects the communities we serve. We work within an anti-racist, anti-oppressive framework that acknowledges the existence and impacts of systemic racism and seeks to ensure that systems are fair and equitable for everyone.

Job Summary:

The Community Harm Reduction Peer Worker (CHPW) provides proactive community outreach services to members of the West Centretown neighborhood. The activities of this position include, but are not limited to, responding to SWCHC community phone calls and follow-ups, conducting outreach services, providing referrals to health, housing, or other services, educating about safer drug use practices, and responding to overdoses.

Calls and emails for support may involve assisting an unhoused person or a neighbor in distress, as well as supporting the proper disposal of discarded gear or abandoned sleeping rough supplies. In close collaboration with other harm reduction and center teams, and other community partners, the Community Harm Reduction Peer Worker will offer responsive, collaborative, and understanding care while working to build a safer and more inclusive community.

This position involves primarily working in non-standard hours of outreach, specifically evenings and weekends.

Community Harm Reduction Peer Workers will assist with providing informal care coordination supporting clients to navigate systems. Workers collaborate as a part of the whole Harm Reduction Department. They will work with Harm Reduction Workers, Nurses, the Team Leads, Managers and other members of the team.

They will report to the Team Lead of the NESI program.

Other Job Requirements:

• Completion of criminal reference check for vulnerable sector - historical charges and/or convictions are not an automatic barrier to a successful application
• CPR certification
• First Aid

Language Capability:

• Fluency in English required. Working knowledge of French or other priority languages in our service community (Somali, Vietnamese, Inuktitut) is an asset.

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to lift and carry items approximately 25-30 lbs daily through extended foot outreach.
• This position will require the ability to walk approximately 10-15 km over the course of a shift, including on uneven ground and with limited visibility.
• Ability to safely collect used inhalation or injection equipment which carries the risk of potential needle stick injury and exposure to blood borne pathogens

Mental/Emotional Requirements:

• Ability to make rapid decisions about safety and risk and a high degree of clinical judgment with unknown factors
• Ability to assess safety in engaging with people who may be in crisis or in rapidly shifting stages of escalation
• Ability to work in environments that are fast paced, loud in volume, with people who may be in crisis
• Ability to work within a team of people from diverse backgrounds and life experiences
• This position will require the ability to assess the safety of entering unknown locations (usually in public), including at night to engage with people who may be in crisis.
• Regular exposure to significant psychological and emotional stressors, vicarious trauma, and potential risk of violence

**It is the policy of SWCHC to require COVID-19 immunization for all employees, volunteers, and students, including those who work off-site with the following exceptions: Persons with a medical reason that prevents them from being vaccinated against COVID-19; Persons with other reasonable considerations pursuant to the Ontario Human Rights Code that restrict them from being vaccinated against Covid 19 vaccination. **

Somerset West Community Health Centre is an equal opportunity employer who values the diversity of individuals in our programs and services.

We welcome and encourage applications from members of Indigenous, Black and racialized communities, Two-Spirit, nonbinary, LGBTQ+ people; people with disabilities; and members of other equity deserving communities. Applicants are encouraged to share accessibility needs in the application process, and every attempt will be made to accommodate them.

Due to the high volume of applicants, we can neither confirm receipt of nor respond to inquiries regarding your application. Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.