Housing First for Youth

**Organization Overview**:
Our Place Peel is a growing, community-based, non-profit charitable organization that is focused on providing shelter and outreach support for homeless and disadvantaged youth in the Peel Region. We are a leading organization recognized in the community for our commitment to providing youth in need with a safe environment and access to services to help them achieve independence and foster growth.

Our Place Peel’s mission is to empower youth through prevention, intervention and support in accessing safe and sustainable housing. Their vision is for all youth to have a place to call home.

**Position Profile**:
The Housing First For Youth (HF4Y) Intensive Case Manager provides intensive, client-centered case management to vulnerable and chronically homeless youth (ages 16-24) in the Region of Peel. Working within a trauma-informed, anti-oppressive, and harm reduction framework, the Case Manager supports youth in achieving housing stability and long-term well-being through assessment, planning, facilitation, care coordination, engagement, evaluation, and advocacy.

The Housing First For Youth (HF4Y) Intensive Case Manager empowers youth by drawing on their strengths and capabilities, promoting positive youth development, and facilitating timely access to the necessary supports to reduce the risk of homelessness and improve quality of life.

The Housing First For Youth (HF4Y) Intensive Case Manager will lead, engage and deliver the fundamentals of case management based on the following:

- Trauma-Informed Care as the Foundation
- Youth-Centered Assessment & Engagement
- Holistic & Individualized Care Planning
- Multidisciplinary Coordination & Advocacy
- Harm Reduction Approach
- Housing First for Youth Principles
- Relationship Building & Emotional Regulation
- Boundaries with Compassion
- Strengths-Based & Anti-Oppressive Approach
- Ongoing Review & Adaptation

**Case Management Focus**:
Leading from a racialized, trauma-informed framework and Housing First For Youth principles and best practices, provide intensive case management using a variety of strategies and approaches, including:

- Assessment
- Goal setting
- Referrals and accompanying youth to appointments
- Coordinating peer and group work
- Building life skills
- Troubleshooting and practical support
- Mediation
- Providing opportunity
- Advocacy
- Supporting collaboration and engagement
- Systems navigation and capacity building
- Helping youth build and maintain positive relationships and connections to meaningful people in their lives

**Role Overview**:

- Demonstrate relentless engagement efforts and a strong belief in the capacity of youth to succeed
- Conduct assessments, utilize care planning tools, facilitate care coordination, and advocate for options and services to meet youth’s comprehensive needs in order to achieve greater life stability
- Provide case management to support and assist youth in developing and following through with comprehensive case plans that are designed to concentrate on barriers impacting housing readiness/stability and factors that promote connection, belonging, long-term wellness, and independent living skills
- Utilize culturally appropriate interventions to help youth develop actionable goals
- Manage individual progress of youth case plans and follow-up to ensure progress towards goals is being made; adjust goals as necessary in conversation with the youth
- Develop, plan and implement a regular in-person visit schedule with youth where they are residing, with a requirement of in-person contact regularly as planned, more as required based on need and acuity as well as youth choice.
- Coordinate with internal and external partners to help clients secure affordable and appropriate housing using a Housing First for Youth model and to ensure wraparound services are being offered, based on assessment of needs and goals. This may include, but are not limited to:

- Health care providers
- Mental health and wellness services
- Addictions supports
- Ethno-specific services and supports
- Housing and landlord relationships
- Aftercare supports
- Youth-specific supports that may include employment, education, connection with community, and more

- Support youth in their housing goals by connecting youth to local services, increasing youth's familiarity with local/preferred neighbourhood, and promoting a youth's pro-social community involvement to decrease social isolation
- Accompany youth to viewings and meetings when necessary and act as an advocate/support person
- Demonstrate skill and situational awareness when engaging and/or transporting youth in the community to maintain appropriate safety precautions
- Provide and/or coordinate with partners to provide life skills teaching to help build client capacity to maintain housing, especially focusing on tenancy skills and knowledge
- Promote and encourage youth engagement and positive youth development in care path planning and establishing