Peer Support Navigator

York-Hills-Centre-For-Children,-Youth-and-Familie; Toronto; On-site; CAD 58,000 - 62,000; Full time

Job summary

York Hills Centre for Children, Youth and Families is seeking a Peer Support Navigator for a six-month contract. You will support youth aged 12 to 25 facing mental health or substance use challenges, helping them access and navigate community resources.

Responsibilities include counseling, care coordination, program development, and outreach, with a focus on building welcoming, youth-centered services in the York Region and beyond.

Qualifications

• Completion of a post-secondary diploma/degree in Child and Youth Care, Social Work, Psychology, Addictions and Mental Health or relevant health and social science fields.
• Lived/living experience as a young person with mental health and/or substance use challenges is required.
• Knowledge of York Region resources and ability to relate to youth from a peer perspective.
• willingness to work evenings and flexible hours.

Responsibilities

• Provide emotional and practical support to youth aged 12–25 to navigate community resources.
• Engage with youth individually and in groups to support goals and service needs.
• Coordinate with care teams and link youth to internal and external services.
• Develop and co-facilitate skills, well-being activities, and drop-in programming.

Skills

Peer engagement

Youth relation

Interpersonal skills

Lived experience (self)

Education

Post-secondary diploma/degree in Child and Youth Care

Post-secondary diploma/degree in Social Work

Post-secondary diploma/degree in Psychology

Post-secondary diploma/degree in Addictions and Mental Health

Tools

Office 365

MS Office

SharePoint

Job description

Salary Range: $58,294.00 To $61,842.00 Annually

PEER SUPPORT NAVIGATOR (Six-Month Contract)

(Posting #1476)

ABOUT US

York Hills is a children and youth mental health agency that offers a wide range of mental health services, supports and partnerships providing meaningful and evidence informed/based treatment to children, and youth, aged 0 to 18 years, and their families.

9401 Jane Street, Maple, ON. This position will require travel within York Region.

Hours of Work:

Thirty-five (35) hours/week, including evenings. Hours of work are Monday to Friday 10:30 am – 6:00 pm.

Number of Vacancies or Evergreen Role:

01

POSITION

Reporting to the Youth Wellness Hub York Region Manager, the Peer Support Navigator will be part of a diverse Youth Wellness Team, providing support to youth aged 12 to 25, experiencing mental health, substance use and/or other challenges. The primary focus of this role will involve providing emotional and practical support including working with youth to navigate the full scope of community resources available to them within the Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario (“YWHO” or “Hub”) and the broader community to help support their continuity of care. The Peer Support Navigator will utilize their personal experience with mental health and/or substance use to relate to youth and support them in determining their unique goals and service needs. The role will contribute to program development and outreach activities related to the Hub’s clinical services, skills & well-being activities and community support services, including participating in outreach activities, drop-in activities and one-on-one mentorship. The Peer Support Navigator will contribute to co-creating a welcoming space for youth and work collaboratively with staff and external partners, including upholding the Agency’s Mission, Vision and Values, while contributing to a positive workplace environment.

A LOOK AT YOUR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Clinical Service Responsibilities

• Assists in promoting and supporting the Mission, Vision, and Values statements, ensuring adherence to operational and service policies and procedures while maintaining ethical conduct.
• Demonstrates a strong understanding of ethical behaviour and professional conduct, including contributing to ensuring ethical standards are upheld and participation in quality improvement standards.
• Creates, engages and maintains a developmentally appropriate, non-judgmental, non-stigmatizing, safe, and welcoming hub atmosphere for youth accessing services.
• Connects, engages and works with clients on an individual basis, including their families/caregivers, to better understand their service needs and goals through an individual and/or group facilitator approach.
• As part of a multidisciplinary team, provides support to youth, their families, and caregivers. that is consistent with the YWHO model and values.
• Provides informal counselling and support, including sharing about lived experience as it relates to addictions and mental health on an individual basis or in a group setting.
• Supports a seamless experience of care for youth and families/caregivers, including the transition between various service pathways internal to the Hub Network (e.g., Skills and Well-being, Community & Social Support, Clinical Services), including linking youth to resources in the community.
• Provides care coordination and community-based support to youth with a number of care providers, including case conferencing to ensure strong communication among care teams.
• Works collaboratively with the youth wellness hub team to provide support to youth, ages 12 to 25, as it relates to mental health and addictions.
• Supports the use of YWHO standardized measures when working with youth to provide mental health and substance use services, monitor progress, and improve youth outcomes that focus on measurement-based care.
• Accompanies youth to appointments and provides a warm transfer of support to youth referred to services both in YWHO-York Region and service providers in the community.
• Provides hybrid access to services through community outreach, on-site and virtually (as needed).
• Promotes and encourages youth engagement and positive youth development in care planning and establishes goals by fostering therapeutic relationships.
• Develops promotional and workshops materials for peer support groups.
• Develops strong relationships with community services to build referral pathways for youth looking for specific services and supports such as housing, education, financial supports, employment, legal, basic needs, mental health, substance use, and physical health.
• Facilitates social and recreational activities, both within the Hub and community-based outings (e.g. gyms, community centers, and land-based programming) as needed.
• Participates in presentations to schools and community service organizations.
• Provides individual mentorship and coaching to youth that support the navigation of mental health system(s).
• Assists in the planning, outreach and co-facilitation of skill well-being activities and drop-in programming.
• Attends team meetings as required and contributes to integrated care planning for youth.
• Completes documentation of client interactions and timely completion of data entry, case notes and other electronic records as needed.
• Assists with program evaluation activities and support the development of program reviews as needed.
• Participates in community network meetings and community engagement, such as outreach in community and schools.
• Provides hybrid access to services through community outreach, on-site, and virtually (as needed).
• Participates in YWHO Provincial Community of Practice for Peer Support Worker and YWHO Provincial Community of Practice for Care Navigator role.
• Supports and attends the Youth Advisory Council as needed.
• Work from a harm reduction and culturally responsive approach.

Administrative Responsibilities

• Maintains asystem of documentation and reporting that is consistent with quality assurance standards and procedures, legislation, accreditation and best practices.
• Ensures the intake process meets scheduled deadlines and program demands, communicating discrepancies and/or setbacks to the Youth Wellness Hub York Region Manager.
• Actively participates in regular supervision and engages in ongoing professional development.
• Supports the quality assurance program, evaluation systems and research activities as needed.
• Works with Human Resources to ensure memberships, licenses, background checks and certifications are up to date via submission of required documents on ADP.

Organizational Responsibilities

• Builds and maintains interactions with colleagues focused on individual, team and organization success.
• Performs work in a safe manner and adheres to the established health and safety measures of the organization.
• Actively supports Equity, Diversity and Inclusion drivers, including fostering a welcoming and safe space, where people can expect to be treated fairly, equitably and in a culturally responsive way.
• Attends and participates in required training and meetings.
• May be required to drive the agency vehicle transporting clients and resources.
• Other duties as assigned.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR:

• Completion of a post-secondary diploma/degree in Child and Youth Care, Social Work, Psychology, Addictions and Mental Health or relevant health and social science fields.
• Up to two (2) years of experience working with children and youth in a community-based mental health/substance use setting.
• Lived/living experience as a young person with mental health and/or substance use challenges, which may include experience as a recipient of mental health and/or substance use services, is required.
• Knowledge of community resources and services in York Region.
• Demonstrated ability to relate to young people accessing services from a peer perspective and can work within a multidisciplinary health care team.
• Formalized peer support work experience and experience supporting/connecting with diverse youth is an asset.
• Familiarity with system navigation models and principles, an asset.
• Strong self-awareness, self-care practices and can establish and maintain professional relationships with youth accessing peer services.
• Knowledge of approaches that promote health equity, including anti-oppressive and anti-racist practice, 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion, community engagement, cultural safety, trauma-informed care, harm reduction, and human rights and accessibility frameworks.
• Experience in supporting safe and meaningful drop-in participation and being open to diverse ways of thinking about, understanding and articulating issues related to mental health and substance use is an asset.
• Commitment towards completion of training in Peer Support and/or Recovery.
• Knowledge of Wellness Recovery Action Planning and experience belonging to groups, agencies or organizations related to peer support would be an asset.
• Superior interpersonal, collaboration, facilitation, and negotiation skills.
• Competence in modelling professionalism and maintaining a high level of confidentiality.
• Demonstrate versatility in the ability to work independently and collaboratively to support agency and program goals.
• Experience utilizing suicide risk assessment and intervention skills.
• A willingness to work flexible hours which include evenings; comfortable working in office and in community-based settings.
• Experience developing and facilitating groups, webinars and workshops.
• Functional technological skills (e.g., Office 365, MS Office, SharePoint, software applications).
• Awareness and appreciation for the dynamics of equity issues (diversity, equity and inclusion) especially as it relates to gender, ethnicity, race, and economic status.
• Identification with the strategic mission, vision and values of the organization including inclusion, collaboration, people centred, knowledgeable and courageous.
• Driver’s licence and clear driver’s abstract, including proof of automobile insurance and letter of experience.
• Must possess a satisfactory Police Record Check

Don’t check all the boxes? We encourage you to apply anyway.

NICE TO HAVES:

Cultural Person with an equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Applicants with fluency in another language are encouraged to apply.
• Fluency in American Sign Language.
• Standard First Aid Certificate.
• Mental Health First Aid Certificate.

ON-BOARDING REQUIREMENTS:

• Police Vulnerable Sector Screening Check (VSS), within the last 180 days.
• Valid Ontario Driver’s License and access to a reliable motor vehicle.
• Completion of a Driver’s Abstract.
• Proof of automobile insurance.

York Hills is strongly committed to a workforce that reflects the diversity of the populations we serve. We encourage applications from all qualified individuals, including applicants from all cultures, racialized communities, abilities, diverse sexual and gender identities and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas.

York Hills is committed to building a diverse, inclusive, accessible and respectful workplace. We believe in cultivating a selection process and employment environment without discrimination or harassment, that is inclusive and barrier free.

York Hills is an Equal Opportunity Employer and in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code and Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, should you require a code-protected accommodation, through any stage of the recruitment and selection process, please contact Human Resources.