Case Worker– Hoarding & Environmental Health

YWCA Toronto; Toronto; On-site; CAD 56,000 - 67,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive Medical, Vision & Dental

Life Insurance & Long-Term Disability

Multi-Sector Pension Plan

Generous vacation & sick leave

Job summary

YWCA Toronto is hiring a Hoarding and Environmental Health Case Worker to provide hands-on, client-centered support for tenants in the Church Street housing program. The role delivers harm-reduction based case management, life skills coaching, and coordinated services with health, housing, and social providers.

Responsibilities include eviction prevention, crisis counseling, and developing individualized support plans.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Social Work or equivalent; cases for equivalency considered
• Knowledge of pest control, hoarding issues, and harm reduction goals
• Knowledge of bed bug and other pest concerns, pest control procedures
• 3–5 years of direct service experience in supportive housing with populations affected by poverty, homelessness, trauma
• Excellent crisis intervention and conflict mediation skills; ability to stay calm in crisis
• Proven experience in leading groups and developing innovative programming
• Supportive counselling and group-work approaches that are client-centered and strengths-based
• Working knowledge of Residential Tenancies Act, Housing Services Act, and Ontario Human Rights Code
• Strong knowledge of community resources
• Microsoft Office proficiency
• Physical capability to lift minimum 25 lbs.

Responsibilities

• Use eviction prevention measures to assist tenants with mental health/substance use challenges in maintaining tenancy
• Provide crisis prevention, intervention and counseling for women, children and gender diverse people
• Assist tenants to resolve arrears, pest control and hoarding management challenges
• Act as a specialist in hoarding from a harm reduction framework
• Collaborate with staff, Property Service, and tenants to prepare for bed bug/pest removal and de-cluttering education
• Develop individualized support plans with ongoing housing and mental health goals
• Create programs to build community capacity using a harm reduction framework across health, relationships, life skills and housing

Skills

Crisis intervention

Conflict mediation

Group facilitation

Leadership development

Client-centered approach

Anti-oppression frameworks

Trauma-informed care

Education

Bachelor of Social Work

Tools

Pirouette database

Microsoft Office

Job description

Employment Type: Full-Time, Permanent

Position Status: Vacant

Work Hours: 35 hours per week (Housing programs operate 24/7 - rotating shifts including evenings, holidays and weekends; shares on-call responsibilities or provides emergency coverage)

Salary: $61,479 annually (L7), plus comprehensive benefits

Location: 389 Church Street Toronto, Ontario M5B 2E5

Internal Application Deadline: Friday, September 18, 2026

External Application Deadline: Monday, September 21, 2026

JOIN OUR TEAM

Join YWCA Toronto, where intersectional feminism, community voices, and social justice drive lasting change. We welcome women and gender diverse people of all identities into a workplace rooted in equity, collaboration, and inclusion.

The Hoarding and Environmental Health Case Worker provides hands-on and client-centered support to individuals whose living environments are impacted by hoarding behaviours, safety hazards, or challenges with essential life skills. The role promotes safe, healthy, and sustainable living spaces through harm-reduction strategies, life skills coaching, and coordinated efforts with health, housing, and social service providers. Working in collaboration with program manager, the position ensures that case management, community development, life skills training, and hoarding/environmental health interventions are fully integrated into the overall program delivery.

ABOUT YWCA TORONTO – HOUSING SUPPORT PROGRAM, CHURCH STREET

The YWCA Toronto Church Street facility offers 120 units of permanent, rent-geared-to-income housing for women and gender-diverse individuals. The Hoarding and Environmental Health Caseworker provides targeted case management and community engagement support to a caseload of tenants with complex mental health challenges who are at risk of homelessness. This includes individuals transitioning from provincially funded institutions and service systems, such as hospitals or correctional facilities, as well as Indigenous women and Two-Spirit people.

The Church Street program aims to support housing stability, promote harm reduction, and enhance tenants’ overall health and well-being. Through one-on-one case management and group supports, tenants are empowered to identify personal goals, build life skills, and overcome barriers to maintaining safe, healthy, and stable housing.

Key Responsibilities

• Uses effective eviction prevention measures to assist tenants with significant mental health/substance use challenges to assume and maintain their tenancy obligations;
• Provides crisis prevention, intervention and counseling for women and children and gender diverse people to respond to crisis in ways that support individual and community well-being;
• Assists tenants to resolve issues of outstanding arrears, pest control and hoarding management challenges;
• Acts as a specialist in the area of hoarding from a harm reduction framework;
• Working with other staff, Property Service, and tenants to prepare for bed bug/pest removal and/or assist in de-cluttering education and assistance with organizing and housing issues stemming from hoarding management;
• Works with a tenant support network and referral partners to develop individualized support plans that identify ongoing housing and mental health/addictions goals and supports;
• Creates programming specifically designed to build community capacity with the use of a harm reduction framework that will give individuals and groups of residents the opportunity to develop and use harm reduction strategies in all aspects of their lives (health, relationships, independent life skills, housing, etc.).

Qualifications

• General knowledge of an academic or technical discipline normally acquired through the completion of an undergraduate degree (example: Bachelor of Social Work) (Cases for Equivalency will be considered);
• Knowledge of best practices for pest control and hoarding issues, and using tools or frameworks to support harm reduction goals;
• Knowledge of bed bug and other pest concerns, pest control procedures, solutions and best practices for hoarding support and follow up;
• 3 - 5 years directly related experience working in a supportive housing setting in a direct service setting with children, youth and adults who experience impacts of poverty, homelessness/under-housing, violence/trauma, mental health/addictions, or concurrent disorders;
• Excellent crisis intervention and conflict mediation skills, with ability to remain calm in crisis;
• Proven experience working independently, developing and facilitating groups;
• Demonstrated experience in cultivating leadership within groups and developing dynamic and innovative programming;
• Supportive counselling and group-work approach that is flexible, client-centered and strengths-based;
• Life Skills certificate an asset;
• Working knowledge of the Residential Tenancies Act, Housing Services Act, and Ontario Human Rights Code;
• Strong knowledge and understanding of community resources;
• Working knowledge of Microsoft office suite;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills;
• Demonstrated understanding and proven ability to work from Anti-oppression, Trauma Informed, Harm Reduction, and feminist frameworks;
• Knowledge of a second language or culture an asset;
• Able to work in settings which are crowded and may include second hand smoke and/or unpleasant odours;
• Comfortable working in an environment in which clients may be angry and exhibit anti-social behaviours;
• Experience with Pirouette database is considered an asset;
• Demonstrated cultural competency with ability to communicate and engage with individuals from diverse ethno-cultural backgrounds and different levels of abilities;
• Capable of lifting minimum 25lbs.

Note

Staff at YWCA Toronto work in dynamic environments that can present both rewards and challenges. To support safety and well‑being, all employees are provided with appropriate training, protective equipment, and access to wellness resources. The following working conditions may apply to this position:

• Exposure to unpredictable behaviors and situations, with required adherence to use de-escalation and crisis intervention safety protocols.
• Regular exposure to unpleasant odors, bodily fluids, and pests (such as bed bugs, mice, and cockroaches), with use of PPE and infection control procedures.
• Work involves high emotional demands including vicarious trauma, grief, and compassion fatigue, with wellness supports and EAP resources available.
• Potential exposure to second-hand smoke inside of tenants’ units; requiring staff to follow organizational health and safety measures.
• Interactions includes; tenants who may have pets, requiring adherence to program guidelines for providing clear directions on tenants safe handling and storage practices of their pets.

What we offer

• Comprehensive Medical, Vision, and Dental Coverage
• Life Insurance and Long-Term Disability Benefit
• Multi-Sector Pension Plan: Employer’s contribution of 5.75% and Employee Contribution of 3.25%
• Time off: Starts with 20 Vacation Days, 1.5 Days Per Month Sick Leave, 12 Paid Holidays, Health Promotional Days and 4 Float Days
• Other Benefits: Child Care Benefits, Maternity/Parental Leave Supplementary Employment Benefits, Educational/Sabbatical Leave, and Financial Assistance for Professional Development

Please note: A vulnerable sector police reference check is required by the successful candidate prior to hiring. YWCA Toronto is a unionized workplace. Staff are represented by CUPE Local 2189. This position is within the Bargaining Unit.

Please indicate in your cover letter, if you are an internal candidate. For internal applicants, this position is secondable.

Posting Date: September 09, 2026

YWCA Toronto transforms lives. As the city’s largest multi-service women’s organization, we help women and gender diverse people escape violence, move out of poverty and access safe, affordable housing.

We work tenaciously to break down barriers that hold women and gender diverse people back from achieving equality.

Vaccination Policy: In accordance with YWCA Toronto’s COVID-19 Vaccination Policy, all YWCA Toronto employees, students and volunteers are strongly encouraged to obtain all COVID-19 vaccinations and booster doses as recommended by Toronto Public Health

Please note: A vulnerable sector police reference check is required by the successful candidate before hiring.

YWCA Toronto promotes the principles of anti-oppression and adheres to the tenets of the Ontario Human Rights Code. We encourage applications from women and gender-diverse people of all races, ethnic origins, religions, abilities and sexual orientations.

YWCA Toronto provides accommodation during all parts of the hiring process, upon request, to applicants with disabilities. If contacted, please advise us if you require any accommodation. While we thank all candidates for their interest, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

YWCA Toronto may use AI-supported tools to assist with parts of the recruitment process; all hiring decisions are made by people and guided by our commitment to equity and fairness.

YWCA Toronto is a Scent-Sensitive Workplace.