Harm Reduction Outreach Worker - Casual (External)

Kaizen Lab Inc.; Halifax; On-site; CAD 42,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

The North End Community Health Centre is seeking a MAP Support Worker to join our interdisciplinary team. You will engage with MAP participants who experience chronic alcohol use and homelessness through daily outreach and collaborative care.

Responsibilities include meeting clients where they are, in homes or shelters, coordinating with housing providers, and applying harm-reduction principles to support wellbeing.

Qualifications

• 1–2 years’ experience working in a community setting with people who use substances.
• Formal education in social or health fields is an asset but not a requirement.
• Strong understanding of harm reduction principles and approaches, and social justice.

Responsibilities

• Support MAP participants experiencing social and physical harms.
• Collaborate with an interdisciplinary team to provide outreach seven days a week.
• Meet clients where they are (homes, shelters, hotels) and coordinate with housing services.

Skills

Harm reduction

Adaptability

Time management

Communication

Interpersonal skills

Boundaries

Crisis navigation

Team collaboration

Education

Social/health field education

Human Services Diploma (asset)

Job description

*The North End Community Health Centre is committed to being an inclusive organization. To ensure our organization represents the diverse people and communities we serve, the priority will be given to the individuals who identify as African Nova Scotians or people of African Descent, Indigenous or 2SLGBTQIA++.

Job Purpose:

The NECHC’s Managed Alcohol Program (MAP) is a medical harm-reduction program that serves a caseload of individuals with severe alcohol use disorder (AUD) in the community. MAP aims to mitigate the health and social harms associated with AUD through alcohol prescription and scheduled delivery in the context of ongoing assessment and medical oversight, with attention to the social determinants of health.

The Map Support Worker will work with an interdisciplinary team to support community members enrolled in MAP who are experiencing social and physical harms associated with chronic alcohol use disorder and homelessness. Our team provides daily outreach services seven days a week, 365 days a year to MAP participants including individuals who are marginally housed and street involved. This service involves meeting clients where they are located, including in their homes, in housing support programs, on the street, in hotels and drop-in spaces. It also involves collaborating with existing community service providers, such as Shelter Nova Scotia, and other housing case managers across our community.

Education and Experience:

• 1-2 years’ experience working in a community setting with community members who use substances.
• Formal education in social or health fields, addictions or community work, or Human Services Diploma is an asset but not a requirement.
• Strong understanding of harm reduction principles and approaches, and social justice.
• Strong skills related to adaptability, time management, problem solving, judgement, communication, interpersonal relations, and healthy boundaries.
• Values diversity with commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.
• Ability to balance making ethical decisions in the moment, including the ability to relate this decision making to the program policies and procedures, and being collaborative in the team.
• Compassionate, non-judgmental approach to supporting clients whose needs and goals may be different than your own, creative thinking, ability to navigate a crisis situation, de-escalate, and/or pull in more support.