Position: Community Prevention Worker

Location: Thunder Bay

Reports to: Team Supervisor of Program Site

Position type: Full-time, Contract

Duration: 6 Months (September - March 31, 2025)

Organizational Summary

The Ontario Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Strategy (Oahas) is an Indigenous-led organization committed to promoting and supporting healthy, thriving Indigenous communities through providing culturally grounded education and access to harm reduction to reduce the transmission of HIV and other STBBIs in our communities. Oahas operates based on the principles of Greater Involvement of People living with HIV/AIDS (GIPA), Meaningful Engagement of People living with HIV/AIDS (MEPA), “nothing about us without us”, Indigenous harm reduction, and respect for our cultural knowledges and teachings. These foundational principles guide all aspects of our relationships and work.

Organizational Values & Accountability Behaviours

Oahas' organizational values are Autonomy and self-determination, Accessibility, Innovation, Justice, Connection, Accountability, Hope and Advocacy. Based on our organizational values, we have developed agency-wide accountability behaviours that are shared with all Oahas staff and used as part of our performance evaluation tools. These include engaging in the work using direct communication, kindness, generosity of spirit and respect.

Position Summary

Community Prevention Workers provide culturally grounded STBBI & harm reduction education, one-to-one service navigation supports, access to harm reduction supplies, linkages to STBBI testing and treatment, run drop-in programming, and facilitate cultural workshops and educational groups for community.

Community Prevention Workers report to the Team Supervisor of the Program Site with the following areas of responsibilities: Harm Reduction, Community, and Education Programs and Services; Testing, Treatment & Linkage to Care; Administration – with particular emphasis on one-on-one and group program reporting and case file administration.

Key Responsibilities

Harm Reduction, Community, and Education Programs and Services

• Promote safer sex practices through a variety of methods, including educational activities and harm reduction supply distribution through outreach and drop-in services.

• Participate in community events and gatherings and set-up displays and information booths.

• Facilitate groups related to education, life skills, culture and wellness for community members with particular attention to Indigenous people living with, or at risk of acquiring, HIV, HCV and STBBIs. This includes engaging with Indigenous people who use drugs, engage in sex work, those who have been incarcerated and/or those who are experiencing houselessness.

• Advocate for quality of care, non-judgmental and non-stigmatizing services for Indigenous people accessing health services related to the prevention, testing and treatment of STBBIs.

• Provide education to service providers on addressing anti-Indigenous racism in health care, HIV & HCV basics as it relates to prevention, testing and treatment, and Indigenous harm reduction.

• Collaborate locally and regionally and create partnerships to improve services and access to care for Indigenous peoples.

• Engage peers and volunteers with lived and living experience to assist in creating harm reduction kits, provide training to peers, and work together to distribute harm reduction supplies to community members.

• Work closely with other Oahas staff and community partners to provide services for community members affected by and/or at risk of acquiring HIV/AIDS, HCV and STBBIs through sex and/or substance use. Make sure to attend on-going training and information sessions so staff remain current on the research and wise practices related to Indigenous people and STBBIs.

• Support community members when accessing Oahas Drop-in services, including maintaining a safe and welcoming space, relationship building and active engagement with individuals, providing practical supports as available, providing harm reduction gear, preparing and serving food as available, delivering programming as determined by the team, cleaning and sanitizing the space, engaging in conflict resolution and crisis intervention as needed, and connecting people to external services and supports as requested.

Testing, Treatment & Linkage to Care

• Provide testing services (and referrals) for community members affected by and/or at risk of acquiring HIV/AIDS, HCV and STBBIs through sex and/or substance use.

• Provide supportive, culturally grounded pre and post-test counselling support.

• Support people who might be in crisis to navigate medical services as it relates to testing and/or accessing PEP.

• Provide support to Indigenous People Living with HIV/AIDS (IPHA) community members through coordinating and/or facilitating support groups and various program activities that support improved quality of life.

• Develop and maintain strategic partnerships to ensure a continuum of care as it relates to HIV or HCV treatment and wrap around support.

• Support community members in meeting their needs in the areas of harm reduction, health care, housing, income, social support, legal, substance-use supports, through advocacy, systems navigation and providing appropriate warm referrals and linkages to care.

• When requested by IPHAs, provide support with treatment adherence.

Administration

• Complete OCASE/Treat, OCHART and NEO database entries on a weekly basis.

• Ongoing program reporting, data collection, file maintenance and records management.

• Ongoing compliance with Oahas policies and procedures is a requirement for this job.

• Engage in program planning through the development of a workplan.

• Be responsible for submitting finance requests and reconciliations in a timely way.

• May be required to support ordering harm reduction equipment.

Additional Expectations

• Flexibility with schedule and ability to work evenings and weekends on occasion.

• May be required to assist with projects and other agency initiatives.

• Share in the responsibility and care for Oahas traditional medicines and bundle items as per protocol.

Required Qualifications & Experience

• Valid Ontario G driver's license is required for this position.

• A good understanding of Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing and/or understanding of cultural practices, teachings and history.

• Respect for a diversity of cultural practices and teachings.

• Travel throughout the region and occasionally to other areas of the province will be required, which may include flexibility to work some evenings and weekends and to work away from home for up to a week (i.e. weeklong annual Oahas All Staff Gathering in May/June).

• Available to work the 35h/ week required for the position.

• Ability to work outside regular working hours as required.

• Ability to speak openly and freely about substance use and sexuality in a sex-positive, non-judgmental, stigma-free manner with service users and outreach support workers (peers).

• Excellent personal and professional boundaries.

• Ability and willingness to walk up to 15km and to lift up to 10kg in a variety of weather conditions for up to three consecutive hours.

Preferred Qualifications & Experience

• Experience with the delivery of prevention, harm reduction, outreach, education, community-based, social services, health or cultural services.

• Passion for nurturing culturally appropriate programs and services, community engagement, and modelling effective leadership within Indigenous communities.

• Prefer a diploma or degree in a relevant field and/or a combination of related experience.

• Lived/living experience with substance use and/or living with HIV or have received a HCV diagnosis.

• Ability to build healthy relationships, strengthen communication, and establish partnerships within communities.

• Ability to exercise tact, diplomacy and respect when communicating with Indigenous peoples, communities, stakeholders, other agencies and external contacts.

• Strong planning, organizational, and teamwork skills.

• Ability to work in Microsoft Office Suite.

• Ability to speak an Indigenous language is an asset.

Oahas is committed to equitable representation and access. We strive to build an inclusive workforce that reflects the rich diversity of the communities in which we live. To this end, we strongly encourage applications from Indigenous people, and people with living/lived experience with drug use, sex work, homelessness, street involvement; those living/diagnosed with HIV or HCV; members of 2SLGBTQ+ communities, and persons with (dis)abilities.