Job Description

As a central hub in the Metro Vancouver area, the City of New Westminster delivers a broad spectrum of urban services to over 85,000 residents. New Westminster is rich in history with a viable and thriving economy and has a population representative of the diversity of the region. The City is staffed by talented and dedicated employees who work together to achieve its strategic vision. We have earned a proud reputation for civic leadership, service delivery, and outstanding employee relations.

The City of New Westminster is seeking a compassionate and experienced Outreach Support Worker to join our Crises Response Team. As an integral team member, you will identify and support people in the community who are struggling with homelessness and living with medical, mental health, or substance use issues with outreach and referral to provincial and community-based support services.

Duties:

• Identifying people in need by visiting areas where the unsheltered congregate and liaising with other City staff.
• Establishing and maintaining positive relationships and understanding of people who are unsheltered.
• Empowering, assisting, and supporting the unsheltered with the activities of daily living.
• Developing short-term strategies to deal with various situations, including gaining voluntary compliance.
• Collaborating with other care providers to meet the unsheltered individual’s needs and situational requirements while maximizing their independence by providing information, resources, and referral to assist them to obtain services from provincial and community-based service providers.
• Working collaboratively with other members of the Crises Response Team, and community partners to ensure the individual’s self-identified goals for support, recovery, and community connection are addressed by appropriate services and practices that are consistent with the values of self-determination and harm reduction.
• Providing culturally appropriate, safe, and competent services in a variety of environments dependent on the needs of the individual. Particular attention should be paid to Indigenous individuals who may have previous negative experiences with government services and institutional settings.
• Dealing confidently and respectfully with volatile and unpredictable crisis situations including those in which mental health and substance use issues are factors. Worker safety should always be the first consideration.
• Identifying and developing relationships and working collaboratively with organizations and service providers, including Indigenous-based, that support unhoused people in the community.

• Reporting on client and program outcomes and challenges to inform progress and overall design and direction of the pilot program.

  If you have the following characteristics and qualifications, we want to hear from you:

• Certificate in Community Mental Health and sound related experience working with unsheltered individuals and those living with mental health and substance use issues; or an equivalent combination of training and experience.

• Considerable knowledge of the methods, practices, and techniques of providing support services, including medical, mental health and substance use issues of persons experiencing homelessness.

• Considerable knowledge of available programs, their interrelationships, and their functions in delivering care in the community.

• Considerable knowledge of social safety challenges related to the work.

• Sound knowledge of legislation such as the Mental Health Act and Guardianship Act.

• Ability to recognize and address medical, mental health and substance use issues in individuals, as well as financial and social problems of situations.

• Experience working with Indigenous, culturally-diverse and racialized populations. Experience and training in Indigenous cultural practices is an asset.

• Ability to identify goals for support, recovery and community connection by appropriate services and practices that are consistent with the values of self determination and harm reduction.

• Ability to build and maintain trusted relationships with unsheltered individuals.

• Ability to connect the unhoused individuals with available resources and services and provide education, information and assistance to those struggling with homelessness, mental illness and substance use issues with compassion.

• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with municipal staff, community partners, staff in other levels of government and the general public.

• Ability to coordinate, prepare and maintain a variety of correspondence and records related to the work.

• Physical ability to carry out the duties of the position.

• Ability to coordinatre, prepare and maintain a variety of correspondence and records related to the work.

• Ability to work non-standard hours.

• Valid BC Class 5 Driver's License.

• Ability to successfully pass and maintain a clear Police Information Check including Vulnerable Sector Check.

Apply by sending your cover letter and resume in one document