Youth Peer Worker

Competition: (2024-413-YW)_

**_ Youth Peer Worker (2024-413-YW)_**

**Employment Type**:

- Permanent Full-Time, Bargaining Unit (1 Vacancy)

**Work Hours**:

- 35 hours/week

**Work Setting**:

- Onsite - Hybrid Eligible

**Salary**:

- External Rate - F7: - $49,179.05
Internal Rate - F8: - $50,182.70

**Application Deadline**:

- November 4, 2024, by 11:59 pm

**Program Overview - Slaight Family Foundation, Youth Wellness**

Please note that this is not a traditional case worker role. The incumbent of this role must have previous personal, lived experience of mental health and substance use and have past professional involvement using that experience to support others in their recovery journey.

**What You Will Do**
- Operates from a critical, trauma-informed lens, including Anti-Black Racism (ABR), Anti-Oppressive practice (AOP), and a demonstrated understanding of colonialism and its intergenerational effects on black, racialized and Indigenous communities
- Interacts and engages with 2SLGBTQIA+ content and communities and helps to support safe and brave spaces for youth from all diverse backgrounds with a stress on equity
- Draws on personal, lived experience of challenges with substance use and mental health to build trust, establish a working relationship and assist in navigating systems in addictions and mental health
- Provides short-term, one-on-one support that is tailored to the individual needs of the client (active listening, coaching, mentoring, sharing, guiding, liaising etc)
- Supports discussion around goal-creation and goal-setting and works across a multi-disciplinary team to assist in actualizing the client’s unique recovery plans
- Assists in establishing bridges, pathways and linkages across WoodGreen and all youth programs and services in Toronto
- Provides information and supports connections to programs, services and supports that are relevant to the specific needs of the client in both mental health and substance use
- Where appropriate, supports the design, development and facilitation of workshops in addiction and mental health through the Youth Wellness Centre on Wednesday and Thursday evenings
- Where appropriate, supports the co-creation of spaces that assist in amplifying youth voices on topics specific to mental health and substance use (focus groups, advisories etc)
- Attends monthly supervisions with management
- Participates in staff meetings and consultations as needed and/or required
- Attends committee meetings to collaborate with agency partners as needed

**What You Bring to the Team**
- Bachelor’s degree or Diploma in the health or social services, or a related discipline preferred.
- Wellness Recovery Action Planning (WRAP) certificate, or other peer support training, preferred.
- A personal experience with mental health and/or addiction, and established recovery.
- One-year experience in a peer support role.

**What Will Set You Apart**
- Personal experience with mental health and/or addiction, and established recovery.
- Willingness to share their own personal recovery journey
- One-year experience in a peer support role
- Open, willing and comfortable to engage, couch and support individuals who may be experiencing crisis
- Knowledge of systemic issues such as stigma and the isolation felt by individuals with serious mental illness and their families.
- Knowledge of recovery principles (i.e. stages of change) and empowerment-oriented philosophies and practices that support self-determination and independence
- Demonstrated knowledge of youth mental health and substance use resources and youth community services
- Knowledge of harm reduction principles and activities
- Demonstrated ability to work with diverse populations and to recognize and respond appropriately to the needs of peers/clients/consumers of services
- Demonstrated ability to role-model therapeutic relationships with marginalized populations and work from an anti-oppressive and trauma informed lens
- Ability to establish and maintain rapport with clients
- Ability to observe and recognize changes in clients
- Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing
- Ability to work independently and in cooperation with others
- Ability to use effective interpersonal skills to establish/maintain effective working relationships with coworkers, the public and other agencies.
- Ability to organize and prioritize.
- Demonstrated skill in using computers including using technology-based solutions for service delivery, documentation, and viewing screening and assessment data.

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