Shelter Support Worker ( Evening )- DAV1374

YWCA Toronto; Toronto; On-site; CAD 38,000 - 55,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Accommodations during hiring process

Scent-Sensitive Workplace

Unionized workplace

Job summary

YWCA Toronto is seeking a Shelter Support Worker at 348 Davenport Road in Toronto. The role focuses on crisis counselling, case management, and workshop development within a feminist framework, supporting residents and staff to deliver trauma-informed care.

The position requires a strong knowledge of trauma, anti-oppression practice and community resources, with duties including safety planning and advocacy for housing supports.

Qualifications

• An undergraduate degree is normally required; cases for equivalency considered.
• Workshops and courses on mental illness, trauma, harm reduction, crisis de-escalation, anti-oppressive practice.
• 3-5 years’ experience in counselling and group work with at-risk/homeless women.
• Training certificates relevant to shelter operations (T.H.T.C. or equivalent).
• Knowledge of harm reduction principles and community resources; trauma and abuse dynamics.
• Experience delivering workshops; culturally sensitive service delivery in multicultural settings.

Responsibilities

• Apply trauma and abuse dynamics to support strategies for residents.
• Provide daily resident support and assistance with forms and personal items.
• Ensure safety with risk assessments and safety plans; mediate and counsel.
• Provide information/referrals and advocate for client access to housing and supports.
• Develop, implement and evaluate workshops addressing mental health and trauma.

Skills

Excellent communication

Interpersonal skills

Crisis de-escalation

Harm reduction

Cultural sensitivity

Multicultural experience

Advocacy

Case management

Trauma-informed care

Education

Undergraduate degree in social work

Toronto Hostel Training Certificate

Life Skills Certificate

Trauma counselling certificate

Job description

Employment Type: Full-Time, Contract

Position Status: Vacant

Work Hours: 35 hours per week, Wednesday to Sunday 4:00 pm to 12:00 am

(on -call responsibilities; may be required to work outside of regularly scheduled hours including occasional overnights)

Salary: $33.78 (L7) per hour

Location: 348 Davenport Road Toronto, ON, M5R 1K6

Contract Start Date: September 30, 2026

Contract End Date: February 27, 2027

Application Deadline: Wednesday, September 16, 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

As a Shelter Support Worker at 348 Davenport, this position will work within a collaborative team to provide meaningful and relevant services within a theoretical feminist framework that includes a working knowledge of the dynamics and effects of trauma and oppression. She acts as a resource to staff and clients and is responsible for providing a full range of services which includes crisis counselling, case management and the development, implementation and evaluation of workshops. This position shares in the responsibility of the overall health and safety of the building

ABOUT YWCA TORONTO – YWCA DAVENPORT

YWCA Davenport provides up to 80 emergency shelter beds to young women and gender diverse people (16 – 24 years of age) and adult women and gender diverse people (25 and older) and is staffed 24 hours a day. This pet friendly shelter is funded by the City of Toronto and adheres to Toronto Shelter Standards.

KEY RESPONSIBILTIES

• Applies knowledge of the issues of trauma and the dynamics of woman and gender diverse people abuse and homelessness to develop and implement effective support strategies
• Provides daily support services to residents (e.g. tokens, providing personal hygiene items and toiletries, first aid, long-distance calls and assists with completion of forms and statements);
• Exercises precautions to ensure the safety of residents and completes risk assessments and safety plans;
• Uses mediation and counselling skills to maintain a co-operative, supportive and productive shelter environment;
• Provides information and referrals and advocates for clients facing issues of homelessness and trauma;
• Negotiates supportive and flexible strategies to assist residents with mental health issues to access the support within the shelter and in the community;
• Negotiates treatment plans with residents that focus on harm reduction;
• Assists clients in applying for priority, RGI, rent supplement, supportive housing, group homes and any other relevant housing programs and advocates on their behalf;
• Develops, implements and evaluates workshops and groups that address clients’ mental health issues and experience of trauma using interactive techniques (i.e. expressive art techniques) and collaborates with other YWCA programs;
• Maintains, records, compiles program statistics and prepares reports and correspondence.

QUALIFICATIONS

• In-depth knowledge of an academic discipline normally acquired through completion of a supervised undergraduate degree (e.g. BSW); An analytical framework that identifies clients' relation to social systems and the demonstrated practicalapplication of thisframework; (Cases for Equivalency will be considered);

• Completion of workshops and courses pertaining to mental illness, trauma, harm reduction, crisis de-escalation and anti-oppressive practice;
• 3-5 years’ experience in counselling and group work focused on clients at risk and/or homeless women;
• Completion of Toronto Hostel’s Training Certificate (T.H.T.C.) or equivalent;
• Demonstrated knowledge of harm reduction principles and practice;
• Demonstrated knowledge of community resources and supports focused on mental health and group support;
• In-depth knowledge of the dynamics of woman abuse and trauma within an anti-oppression framework;
• Demonstrated experience in the development, delivery and evaluation of workshops and groups;
• Experience delivering culturally sensitive services in a multicultural environment;
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills;
• Knowledge and understanding of mental health, substance use/addictions, advocacy, refugee and immigration issues and homelessness;
• Life Skills Certificate an asset;
• A certificate in trauma counselling would be an asset;
• Knowledge of a second language and/or culture would be an asset.

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 not within the Bargaining Unit. Please indicate on your cover letter if you are a YWCA Toronto Employee. For YWCA Toronto Employees this position is secondable

Posting Date: September 4, 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.