Caa Housing Strategist

**CAA Housing Strategist**

**FTE Contract - Calgary’s Coordinated Extreme Weather Response**

**Start Date - Immediate-March 31, 2025**

**_
Job Objective_**

This role is an exciting and unique opportunity to represent the Distress Centre’s Coordinated Entry Program at the Journey Church warming location, while supporting a city wide initiative to support vulnerable people during the coldest months. The CAA (Coordinated Access & Assessment) Housing Strategist provides frontline service delivery to connect participants experiencing or facing homelessness to programs and services that will address the barriers to stable and sustainable housing. The Distress Centre CAA Program serves as the primary assessment and intake for Calgary Homeless Foundation (CHF) funded housing first programs through the Coordinated System. This role will support this work, and provide ongoing supports to individuals who are connected with the CAA system while awaiting a housing referral through an individualized housing plan.

**Primary Duties**

This is not an exhaustive list of duties, but meant to give you a sense of what you’ll be doing on a regular basis. Other related duties may be required.

Intake triage and Warming Centre Management (35%)
- Warmly greet, establish rapport, and foster trust with people seeking support
- Help facilitate the flow of participants in accordance with policies. Monitor the space, optimizing access and flow, identify potential risks, and implement safety and security procedures as necessary.
- Skillfully de-escalate participant behavior when required; offer crisis support to individuals entering the space in distressed states, and, if possible, address triggering needs safely.
- Enable communication access whenever feasible based on capacity.
- Rapidly respond to opioid poisoning incidents within the centre and nearby areas, adhering to policy and procedures. Stay updated on practices and protocols, and take charge of overdoes response leadership or support for all staff and program participants.

CAA Housing Strategist (65%)
- Facilitate completion of standardized assessment tools in accordance with the Coordinated System CAA policies and procedures.
- Educate participants and community partners about the CHF funded supportive housing program and the triage process.
- Enter assessment data into the HMIS participant database and update as required.
- Complete a detailed housing plan for all participants and continue to support individuals and families in achieving the objectives of the plan.
- Maintain contact with participants to inform about housing placement status and liaise with housing programs to facilitate warm transfers.
- Provide up to date collateral on behalf of participants for housing placements within CHF funded housing programs and provide connection upon a housing referral.

**Hours of work and conditions**
- Work shifts will be 8 hours with lunch and breaks built into your schedule.
- Journey Church; Monday-Friday 9:30am-5:30pm

**Hours may vary slightly upon launch**
- Working in a fast-paced environment requiring de-escalation skills and an ability to respond to crisis
- Universal precautions knowledge and ability to complete specialized training applicable to service delivery
- Working collaboratively with site staff and volunteers

**_ What you bring to the role:_**

**Qualifications/Experience**
- Undergraduate degree or a diploma in the human service field is an asset. Commensurate education and experience may be considered, including lived experience.
- In depth understanding and demonstrated experience in crisis assessment and intervention.
- Demonstrated experience working with highly complex individuals and the ability to maintain composure under pressure.
- Demonstrated experience working in an unpredictable and typically fast paced environment with competing priorities.
- Knowledge of and/or experience working with homelessness, addiction, domestic violence, and/or mental health.
- Knowledge of community resources both within and outside of the homelessness system of care.
- Demonstrated experience working effectively in a team environment and independently.
- Experience working with individuals and families in crisis or experiencing homelessness would be an asset.
- Excellent organizational and time management skills.
- Knowledge of and/or ability to learn participant data management systems.
- Knowledge of and demonstrated experience in the delivery of homelessness support services.
- Knowledge and experience with Indigenous culture, supporting Indigenous people, and social services for Indigenous people is an asset
- Collaborate, mentor, and coordinate with CCEWR site partners and volunteers, and community partners in the effective delivery of collaborative programs and services.
- Valid Alberta driver’s license with access to a vehicle for occasional outreach. Must maintain $2M liability insurance on the vehicle.

**Skills/Abilities**:

- Strong interper