Familyhome / Supported Independant Living

FamilyHome Supported Independent Living Facilitator

Extend-A-Family Waterloo Region (EAFWR)

**Qualifications**:

- Related post secondary certification and/or comparable experience.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Self-starter and willing to take initiative and responsibility to encourage each person supported in their personal goals.
- Ability to develop positive relationships with people supported, community organizations and partners.
- Must be reliable and dependable, punctual and committed.
- Ability to work well independently as well as part of a team.
- Demonstrate threshold and core competencies outlined for DSP’s.
- Experience and understanding of supporting people with FAS, Developmental Disabilities, etc.
- Comfort and experience in working from a trauma informed approach.

**Role**:
As a FH/SIL Facilitator you are community based as the key front line support provider to people receiving service from the FamilyHome and Supported Independent Living (SIL) programs. In the SIL program, adults with developmental disabilities are living on their own in the community, and receive direct support from a SIL Facilitator, for things they choose, related to daily life. In the FH program, adults with developmental disabilities live with a family to whom they are not related. They have FamilyHome Provider(s) who provide the main direct support to the person, however in some cases, they may have further needs in various areas of their lives which can be provided by the FH/SIL Facilitator.

You are guided by compassion, care and responsibility. You readily display these attitudes and ideals in your relationship with the people being supported and in your representation of EAFWR as an organization wherever you are. You are comfortable in situations that require problem solving and actively seek out creative solutions. You can work easily with people with a wide variety of abilities, some who need a much higher level of support than others, given the differences in needs of people in the FamilyHome and SIL programs. As examples, you can move easily between tasks such as providing direct support with budgeting, to job carving employment opportunities, to attending medical appointments, to providing DSP coverage, to offering emotional support to someone during a challenging time. You are responsible for assisting a person with tasks such as landlord/tenant matters and negotiations, searching for and securing housing with those in SIL program, employment support, medical/health support, budgeting and paying bills, DSP coverage, facilitating connections in with people in community, community services and other informal and formal supports (i.e. counseling, food banks, social networks, etc.), etc. Duties will be determined by the needs and requests of each person supported with communication and input from them and the FH/SIL Coordinator.

**Hours and Pay**:

- 30 hours per week, scheduled, however, flexibility to occasionally flex shifts is preferred.
- Starting Rate: $23.96 per hour
- Approved expenses such as mileage are covered

**Responsibilities and Functions**:
Reporting to FH/SIL Manager or Designate, with direction from the person being supported, the FH/SIL Facilitator will provide support to each person in the following ways:
**Person Centered**
- Establish and maintain a respectful and person centered relationship with the people you support
- Plan and implement supports/activities designed to assist the person in achieving goals outlined in the Personal Support Plan and Funding Contract.
- Work intensively with new people joining the SIL Program to help assess and secure housing, develop life skills, network building, daily support needs, etc.

**Daily Life Support**
- Assist with meal planning, grocery shopping, cooking, etc.
- Assist with errands and general purchasing
- Help create general daily schedules and plans for cleaning, laundry, organizing, etc.
- Direct Support Person coverage as needed (vacations, illness, etc)
- Assist with transportation as needed dependent on approval by FH/SIL Coordinator

**Health**
- Assist the person to seek and access local mental and physical health supports
- Attend appointments, monitor and assist with recommendations, support with medication (filling prescriptions), etc.

**Housing (SIL only)**

**Employment/Volunteering**
- Assist in helping access community employment supports. Help with referrals, attend appointments with job support professionals, and assist with tasks related to job searching and preparation, etc.
- Be creative in finding or creating new job opportunities (i.e. job carving) that might not currently exist

**Social Relationships & Networking**
- Support in networking and helping the person supported make connections with individual people, places and organizations in their community
- Use of tools such as community maps to help find existing relationships, as well as ways to expand these connections

**Recreation/L