Temporary Full-time Addiction Support Worker

PLEA Community Services is currently seeking a **Temporary Full-Time Addiction Support Worker (Summer Student)**for our Waypoint team located in Surrey, BC. This position will be an 8-week term contract with a projected end date of August 30, 2025. This position requires BCGEU membership.

This job is partially funded by the Government of Canada through the Canada Summer Jobs Program. For information on eligibility for this program, please refer to the link:
The Addiction Support Worker provides support to individuals with substance misuse issues and complex personal needs. The employee will plan and lead activities with the participants to help them build life skills, strengthen their support networks, access community resources, and provide longer-term aftercare.
- PLEA Community Services is permitted by the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal to exclusively hire men for Addiction Support Worker positions in the Waypoint Program._

**Hours of Work**: The usual hours of work in this position are Tuesday to Saturday based on a flextime scheduling arrangement, including days, evenings and weekends, of 35 working hours per week.

**Education/Experience Requirements**:

- Working towards a Bachelor of Arts in the social sciences or human services or a related discipline.
- One (1) year of recent experience working in programs with youth who are deemed to be high risk, and/or involved in the justice system, and involved in harmful substance use, and their families/caregivers.

**Closing date for Internal Applications**:Thursday, April 24, 2025, at 4:30PM. If the position is not filled internally, it will remain open until filled.

**Who We Are**:
PLEA is an accredited, charitable community services organization that has operated throughout BC for more than 40 years. We deliver community-based services and specialized supported homes to children, youth, adults and families facing significant challenges in their lives. We continually adapt our programs to suit each individual’s diverse strengths, needs and circumstances. As a result, we have a strong reputation for helping those we serve to overcome the challenges they face and lead fulfilling lives.

**What You Will Do**:

- Work closely with the Services Coordinator and Family Caregivers to support the goals identified in each participant’s service plan. Develop and implement appropriate plans, strategies and activities that will address their complex needs, strengthen their protective factors, and provide a sense of stability in the program.
- Provide close supervision and support in the community that will assist participants to achieve their individual goals, maintain their motivation to make safer choices, and develop new interests and connections.
- Implement interventions that address the complex personal, social, and healthcare needs of the participant and recognize the contextual dynamics they are experiencing. Facilitate group treatment programming, support the teacher-supervised educational program, and supervise a variety of group outings in the community.
- Provide opportunities to access and reconnect to available resources in the community that will enable and encourage participants to develop the necessary educational, personal, social, and vocational skills; include such community resources as an integral part of the participant’s case management plan.
- Maintain ongoing positive relationships with Family Caregivers and participate as part of the team responsible for improving the quality of life for the participant, and addressing their individual strengths, needs, abilities and preferences consistently.
- Teach life skills and community survival skills, provide emotional support and model acceptable behavior. Engage participants in acceptable recreational and social activities in the community that build on their strengths, encourage new interests, involve them in their culture and strengthens their sense of identity, and success. Support participants toward integration and normative functioning in the community.
- Develop collaborative relationships with participants’ families/caregivers, significant others and informal support systems to maintain and strengthen these connections.
- Respond to placement emergencies; recognize potential crises, analyze these situations accurately and implement strategies to deal with them, and inform the manager when such situations arise.
- Maintain necessary program participant and program reports and statistics. Ensure that all records, reports and documentation pertaining to service delivery are accurate, complete and in compliance with PLEA’s policies and procedures.
- Establish strong connections to the community, including maintaining close working relationships with all formal and informal service providers.
- Protect and uphold confidentiality.
- Perform other related duties as required.

**What You Will Bring**:

- Strong interpersonal communication, facilitation, and conflict management skills, i