The West Central Women’s Resource Centre (WCWRC) provides services and programming to women and families in the West Central neighborhood of Winnipeg. WCWRC is seeking to hire a Housing First Worker for our More Than Four Walls Housing First program. The Housing First Worker will assist community women who are chronically or episodically homeless find and maintain permanent housing through a Housing First Intensive Case Management approach.

Start Date: May 11, 2015
Salary:.$18/hr
Time Requirement: 37.5 hours/week
Closing Date: May 1, 2015

Responsibilities

• Meet with women referred through the Doorways Coordinated Intake system and assess their situation
• Connect women with housing listings through the Housing Plus centralized procurement process or through WCWRC’s landlord network, including accompanying them to view potential housing options
• Work with women to complete housing applications, apply for appropriate financial supports, etc.
• Facilitate start up shopping for basic groceries and household supplies upon move in
• Ongoing intensive case management with participants to set goals and create plans to reach those goals
• Make referrals as appropriate i.e. furniture depot, counseling, community programming, etc.
• Maintain professional relationships with referral sources and other Housing First service providers
• Minimum of weekly home visits with housed participants to answer questions, offer support, connect to resources, etc.
• Advocacy with participants as required (i.e. Landlord relations, EIA, Residential Tenancy Board, etc.)
• Administer damage deposits, rent subsidies and property damage allotments as required
• In consultation with the Housing Coordinator, develop and implement policies and procedures for coordinating damage deposit, rent subsidy and property damage funds
• In consultation with the Housing Coordinator, develop intake criteria and protocols for networking with other HPS Housing First service providers, especially Doorways coordinated intake and Housing Plus centralized procurement. 
• In consultation with the Housing Coordinator, develop case management policies and procedures in line with WCWRC values and Housing First best practices. 
• Develop and facilitate Life Skills training sessions for women to help build their capacity to maintain housing and make steps towards positive life choices, especially focusing on tenancy skills and knowledge. 
• Develop and maintain relationships with landlords to increase participants’ housing success and build WCWRC’s Housing First landlord network.
• Maintain accurate records and statistics, entering data into information systems as appropriate
• Record hours and maintain detailed record of activities and files for program participants
• Report monthly to the Housing Program Coordinator
• Support drop-in and other WCWRC programming as requested

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Essential:

• Post secondary education in Community Development, Inner City Studies, Social Work or a similar discipline
• Housing experience
• Strong advocacy skills
• Strong crisis intervention skills
• Demonstrated understanding of working with marginalized communities, including an anti-oppression lens and the social determinants of health
• Strong understanding of empowerment and harm reduction philosophies
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Familiar with the use of Microsoft office and outlook
• Professional and responsible with sensitive and confidential issues
• Experience working collaboratively with community organizations
• Excellent organizational and time management skills
• Self-motivated, able to work with minimal supervision
• Driver’s license and access to a vehicle required

Preferred:

• Experience working within the non-profit sector
• Ability to work from a multi-level approach
• Understanding of Community Economic Development Concepts
• Ability to adapt to changing priorities
• Ability to multi-task

Working conditions:

• Days, with potential on-call evening and weekend hours
• Daily travel

Please submit resume and cover letter to the attention of the Personnel Committee c/o Lisa Spring

By e-mail: homes at wcwrc.ca

Mail: Attention Personnel Committee
         c/o Lisa Spring
         West Central Women’s Resource Centre
         640 Ellice Avenue
         Winnipeg, Manitoba
         R3G 0A7

The West Central Women’s Resource Centre is committed to representing diversity amongst our staff and mentors. Indigenous peoples, visible minorities, persons with disabilities, persons of minority sexual orientations and gender identities are encouraged to apply and self-identify. Thank you.