Help Navigator

About Radius Community Health & Healing (formerly Boyle McCauley Health Centre)

Radius Community Health & Healing provides interdisciplinary, team based, integrated, comprehensive, and person-centered primary health care for vulnerable Edmontonians with complex needs. Through primary care and health promotion, Radius Community Health & Healing improves the quality of life and well-being of populations and individuals who face multiple barriers to accessing health services. Radius achieves this by providing the highest standard of evidence-informed and client focused inter-professional care. We collaborate with our clients to address the broad determinants of health.

POSITION SUMMARY

The HELP Navigator is committed to helping people experiencing homelessness and poverty transition toward and maintain sustainable and healthy lifestyles. The purpose of this position is to work with the Edmonton Police Service's HELP (Human – Centered Engagement Liaison Partnership) initiative. The successful candidate will be an internal applicant from Radius Community Health & Health's services team.

PROGRAM:

The Human-centre Engagement Liaison Partnership (HELP) is a new initiative by the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) to partner with social agencies to reduce the overrepresentation of vulnerable and marginalized community within the judicial system. The program works by having frontline social agency workers (navigators) partner with uniformed EPS members, deploying to calls for service within a fully integrated model.

The overarching goal of HELP is to divert the vulnerable and marginalized community members away from the justice system by first identifying the absent basic needs of that individual and to then navigate them to the appropriate resource. This will help reduce the likelihood of them coming to police attention again whilst increasing their well-being, quality of life and social determinants of health.

ROLE OF A NAVIGATOR:

Working in tandem with their EPS partner, navigators will assess referrals made by frontline police officers and assist them in supporting vulnerable people, either through information sharing and problem solving with the police member, or by directly working with the vulnerable person on a case plan and assisting with service coordination and system navigation.

Navigators work intensively in a small team consisting of a variety of social service workers and EPS members; engaging regularly with both government and non-government agencies. These include: Edmonton Crown Prosecution Service, Alberta Health Services, Edmonton Remand Centre, Government of Alberta and a multitude of non-government (social) agencies.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Engage with clients at the scene of a call, at the HELP building or via telephone
• Facilitate provision of services by navigating and/or delegating tasks to various agencies
• Work collaboratively with HELP Constables and other EPS members as required, other team members and community partners to develop and manage individual case plans
• Meet, transport, and attend (as required) client meetings and appointments (medical appointments, housing appointments, professional appointments, etc.)
• Visit clients in jail/hospitals and implement transition plans to ensure smooth transfer back into the community
• Provide crisis intervention should a client be in distress
• Ensure ongoing follow up for clients by connecting with various agencies to ensure completion of tasks
• Educate and empower community participants to understand and achieve their rights and responsibilities, as participating members of society;
• Report to the HELP Sergeants (or agency delegate) on daily activities and whereabouts
• Liaise with internal and external resources that will help community participants increase their assets. This includes maintaining existing partnerships as well as developing new partnerships;
• For community participants who have a caseworker (either internally or externally), complement existing caseworkers by acting as a consultant and liaison for issues that require community participants access to external resources;
• For community participants who do not have a caseworker, refer these community participants directly to internal and external resources as needed;
• Advocate for community participants as needed both to access resources within and outside the organization;
• Ensure community participants accessed external resources by completing follow up with community participants and agencies;
• Provide input into program evaluation upon request;
• Other duties as assigned.

Administration

• Build a comprehensive library and knowledge base on community resources;
• Share and disseminate community resource information;
• Track assigned community participants' progress with external resources;
• Communicate relevant information to involved caseworkers and staff about interactions with community participants and observed behavior when appropriate;
• Document community participants interactions, community participants referrals and community participants progress on ETO;
• Track statistics and prepare reports, as required;
• Attend meetings and training, as assigned;
• Serve on internal and external committees, as requested;
• Provide input into the development of policies and procedures for designated programs;
• Keep community participants' records and information confidential, updated and secure.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS

• Candidate must be a licensed health professional (e.g. CLPNA, ACSW, CARNA);
• Minimum 3 years' experience with Radius Community Health & Healing;
• Must be able to competently perform New Patient Assessments, collect medical histories, perform medication reconciliation, and be familiar with use of Netcare;
• Must have a driver's license in good standing;
• Must have current CPR certification;
• Competent in use in all Office365 applications;
• Must have excellent boundaries and sound self-care practices;
• Excellent interpersonal skills;
• Excellent administrative, time management and organizational skills;
• Self-motivated and ability to work independently;
• Willing to submit to vulnerable sector and criminal record check;
• Has a good understanding of trauma-informed care, and must be able to operate within a harm reduction model of care;
• Must have received at least two doses of a Health Canada licensed COVID-19 vaccine (the second of which must be received a minimum of two weeks prior to start date)

WORKING CONDITIONS

• Time in excess of regular working hours may be required on occasion, with time off in lieu; current workweek schedule as of beginning 2022 includes 4 x 10 hour shifts of either or
• Time schedule varies in relation to the HELP initiative's operating hours.
• The position will be working within an integrated team setting with competing demands and ever-changing environment
• This position will work closely with paramilitary organizational culture while building effective relationships within the communities served.
• Work collaboratively and in unison with Navigators from other social agencies, who are embedded with the HELP team.

Benefits

At Radius, we're committed to enhancing our employees' well-being with a comprehensive benefits package designed to support both personal and professional growth. Radius offers:

• Employee Assistance Plan (EAP): All employees have access to confidential counseling and access to a wide range of resources for personal and professional challenges. Our EAP is here to support your overall well-being.
• Benefits available to all permanent, full-time employees after a defined waiting period:
• Comprehensive medical, dental and vision benefits: Premiums are fully covered by Radius
• Long-Term Disability, Life Insurance, Accidental Death and Dismemberment, and Critical Illness Coverage: Mandatory enrollment, employees are responsible to pay premiums.
• Lifestyle Spending Account: Wide variety of options available to spend an annual allowance
• Group Retirement Savings Plan

Equal Opportunity Employer

Radius Community Health and Healing is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive work environment where all employees are respected and valued. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply and join our team, and we are committed to providing equal opportunities for all qualified applicants. Accommodations for applicants with disabilities will be provided upon request.

Land Acknowledgement

Radius respectfully acknowledge that we are located within Treaty 6 territory, and Metis Nation of Alberta Region 4. We acknowledge this land as the traditional home for many Indigenous Peoples including the Cree, Blackfoot, Metis, Nakota Sioux, Dene, Saulteaux, Anishinaabe, Inuit, and many others whose history, languages, and cultures continue to influence our vibrant community.