The West Central Women’s Resource Centre (WCWRC) provides services and programming to women, and gender diverse people and families in the West Central neighbourhood of Winnipeg. WCWRC is person centered and practices empowerment, inclusion, harm reduction, multi-level, and community economic development philosophies to support people experiencing poverty, homelessness, mental illness, violence, substance use or participating in sex-trade work.
The West Central Women’s Resource Centre is committed to inclusion and equity and strives to ensure that our staff team reflects the diversity of the community we serve. Indigenous peoples, Black people and other people of colour, persons with disabilities, persons of minority sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions and persons with relevant lived experience are encouraged to apply and will be prioritized.
We are committed to removing barriers to employment that are faced by groups that have been historically, persistently and systemically marginalized and encourage (but do not require) members of these groups to self-identify as such in their cover letters.
If you require an accommodation for the recruitment/interview process (including alternate formats of materials, or accessible meeting rooms or other accommodation), please contact us and we will work with you to meet your needs.
Position Summary:
The Housing First Worker will support women, and gender diverse people who are experiencing homelessness to find and maintain permanent housing through a Housing First Intensive Case Management approach.
Term: until March 31, 2025 (may be extended upon confirmation of funding)
Salary: $22-$26 hour, plus benefits package (6% vacation pay, plus a benefits package and matched RRSP after 3 months)
Time requirement: 37.5 hours/week (75 hours biweekly)
Closing date: Open until filled
Responsibilities:
Case Management
· Meet with women, and gender diverse people referred through the Coordinated Access system to assess their situation and follow WCWRC intake procedures
· Support participants to access Employment and Income Assistance or other appropriate income sources to secure housing
· Connect participants with housing listings through the Housing Plus centralized procurement process or through WCWRC’s landlord network, set up and accompany them to viewings, complete housing applications, and gather documentation needed to apply for housing.
· Facilitate start up shopping for household supplies upon move in
· Provide ongoing intensive case management supports with participants to set goals and create plans to reach those goals
· Weekly home visits with housed participants to move forward with case management plans.
· Provide ongoing support to participants regarding tenants rights and responsibilities
· Partner with Building Services to coordinate moves, unit cleaning, pest control, and repairs.
· Support participants often struggling with complex trauma resulting from experiences such as family breakdown, violence, addiction, mental health, incarceration, child welfare involvement, gang involvement, etc. Provide trauma-informed supports, safety planning supports, and crisis intervention supports as needed
· Refer participants internally and/or to other service providers as needed
· Maintain positive working relationships with service providers and landlords, and advocate to them on behalf of participants as needed
· Support participants to prepare for external appointments and accompany participants to offer support and companionship as needed
· Attend bi-weekly case management meetings with the More Than Four Walls Team
Reporting and Administration
· Administer the provision of housing start up, damage deposit, emergency funds, and property damage allotments as required
· Maintain accurate and organized participant related files, statistics, and records of activity, enter data into HIFIS and other information systems, and provide monthly reports to Housing team lead
· Track participant-related expenses and provide Finance with a monthly credit card reconciliation report as well as a monthly mileage report.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
Essential
Driver’s license and access to a vehicle required
· Advocacy skills as well as knowledge and experience with EIA and housing systems
Strong crisis intervention skills
· Must practice participant-centred work and be able to work from a trauma-informed approach
· Strong understanding of and ability to practice harm reduction
· Demonstrated ability to work within anti-racist and anti-oppressive frameworks and actively engage in ongoing learning about these frameworks
Case management experience, including maintaining case notes and reporting
Excellent interpersonal skills
Strong written and verbal communication skills
· Able to use Microsoft office and outlook
Professional and responsible with sensitive and confidential issues
Strong organizational and time management skills
Self-motivated and able to work with minimal supervision
· Strong attention to detail and follow up
Preferred
Post-secondary education in Community Development, Inner City Studies, Social Work or a similar discipline (Work experience in this regards will also be considered)
Clinical experience
Experience working within the non-profit sector
Experience working collaboratively with community organizations
· Strong understanding of empowerment philosophies
Ability to adapt to changing priorities
Working conditions:
Days, with potential on-call evening and weekend hours
Daily case management related travel within the community
Please submit resume and cover letter to the attention of the Personnel Committee with the title of the position in the subject line. Cover letter should expressly indicate how your experience meets the job requirements.
By email: carey@wcwrc.ca
Mail: West Central Women’s Resource Centre
640 Ellice Avenue
Winnipeg, MB R3G 0A7
We thank everyone for their interest, however only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. Candidates selected for interview will be paid for their time.