Housing Support Team Lead

Housing Support Team Lead- Full Time

St. Thomas

The Station – 45 Supportive Housing Units

Position Description:  Reporting to the Program Supervisor, the Housing Support Team Lead will be responsible to provide residents in Indwell’s supportive living program with enhanced supports that help them maintain health and housing. They will work closely with the Program Supervisor, assuring quality health and housing services are delivered.  Promoting and demonstrating the vision, mission and values of Indwell within the workplace and community. They will also lead within the context of a collaborative interdisciplinary team, reflecting the principles of person-centered and evidence-based care by assisting with coordinating and delivering mental health and addiction services to residents.  The Housing Support Team Lead provides or supports in the treatment and rehabilitation, and support for individuals living in supportive housing. Being responsible for the supervision and oversight of housing support staff, as well as other contracted positions as required. This position will require a high level of resilience and willingness to work in close proximity to challenging situations. 
  

About Indwell:  We are a Christian not-for-profit charity that creates affordable housing communities and supportive programs to people seeking health, wellness, and belonging.  Founded in 1974, we continue to grow and thrive to build high quality energy efficient housing and inclusive living, uplifting our society.  Our belief is that every employee is a leader contributing to transform lives through HOPE and HOMES.  Being a part of our amazing team you will be fulfilled working together with others who are genuinely invested in Indwell's mission to serve people impacted by poverty and homelessness.  To learn more, go to: indwell.ca/our-model 

What our Tenants say:  

• "The welcoming you get when you walk through the doors, from tenants to staff. They're always checking on you."
• "Living at Indwell has been teaching me to do things and taught me how to get along with better people, be better people and trust people and let people do and say what they want."
• "An affordable rent.  It’s huge, it’s huge. It means I can eat properly. And that affects my physical and mental health, so that is huge."   
   

Hours of Work: Program hours expected to fall between 8am-11pm . Flexibility is required to meet program demands.  The program operates 7 days a week, including public holidays. Participation in the on-call schedule rotation is required for each position.  
 

Direct Support to Residents:

• Skilled in building therapeutic relationships with residents with a recovery-oriented, trauma-informed approach, promoting hope and trust. 
• Comfort and familiarity with a harm reduction approach.  
• Develop, contribute to, and carry out individual resident support plans, including any relevant assessment tools.
• Work individually with residents to identify and achieve goals as it relates to their individual support needs and recovery.
• Connect residents with supportive community resources, including both clinical and informal supports
• Coordinating, leading and/or participating in case conferences with outside supports
• Confident in utilizing crisis management and intervention skills.
• Respond to resident complaints/concerns with care, compassion, and efficiency.   
• Reinforce residents’ life skills, including spiritual, social, and coping skills.
• Assist with intake and orientation of new residents.
• Develop and facilitate relevant group programming.
• Ensure required documentation is completed in a thorough and timely manner with a focus on maintaining and protecting tenant health records. 
• Ensure effective integration of Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health Care residents within the greater supportive housing program. 

Leadership

• Supervise and support various interdisciplinary support staff within the program as well as any additional contracted positions.
• Consistently show initiative and engage in creative problem solving alongside the Program Supervisor
• Experience leading and/or guiding internal teams to accomplish shared goals specific to health and housing support 
• Coordinate and maintain quality improvement standards related to pest management, apartment checks, rent payments and arrears planning
• Apply organizational skills that foster continuity of housing and health supports  
• Ability to take the lead on internal program development and projects
• Established relationships with community partners within the local social service sector
• Reinforce a positive workplace culture and tone through your skilled verbal and written communication.
• Keep interdisciplinary team informed of community opportunities and emerging trends related to best practices in housing stability.
• Attend organizational cross regional team meetings and provide updates to program staff, specific to the housing support role.
• Comfort and familiarity with leading landlord responsibilities such as pest management, rent collection, Landlord and Tenant Board processes.
• Support engagement in Landlord and Tenant Board processes as needed.
• Participate in HR related matters as required (hiring, performance evaluations, professional development)

Support, Direction, and Commitment to Interdisciplinary Team

• Work as part of an interdisciplinary team to provide direct and indirect support to residents, encouraging housing stability. These supports may include: medication administration, apartment checks, oversight of pest management protocols, community events, and other supports as necessary.
• Support the coordination of unit vacancies and turnover
• Support and collaborate with Program Supervisor to integrate program volunteers into housing support activities. Complete volunteer logs as required.
• Develop onboarding and training schedules for new employees. Participate in the orientation and support of new staff, students and volunteers. 
• Keep apprised of new research and developments relevant to your role, through workshops, journals, websites, and literature. Transfer knowledge back to the team and residents in the most effective manner available. 
• Follow applicable regulations, policies and procedures. 
• Work collaboratively with Facilities, coordinating necessary support needed and accurate reporting of maintenance requests to ensure upkeep of buildings and tenant units.

Health, Welfare and Safety Practices

• Use appropriate procedures when responding to emergency situations.
• Ensure your own health & safety, that of tenants and co-workers by adhering to health & safety standards.
• Complete required safety checks and inspections as assigned.
• Attend and participate in all required training to maintain and develop new skills.  

Skills:  Experience working with individuals with serious mental illness, substance use, or other special needs. Demonstrating a warm, sensitive, and caring approach.  Must be able to maintain good interpersonal relationships and have a genuine interest in supporting people living with mental illness.  The ability to work independently, have strong problem-solving skills, be flexible, organized, responsible, and take initiative. 

Education/Experience:  Bachelor’s degree or equivalent, and related experience. 

Salary: $50,200- $58,600 annual salary based on education and experience. Indwell offers a competitive benefits package and RRSP contribution.   
 

To Apply: Please apply with cover letter and resume to our website: www.indwell.ca/careers. We thank all applicants; however, only applicants that are being considered will be contacted.  
 

Personal information submitted will be used only for employment opportunities within Indwell in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act.  

Accommodation will be provided in all parts of the hiring process as required under Indwell’s Employment Accommodation policy. Applicants need to make their needs known in advance. 

Indwell exists to provide hope and homes for all. Our supports, services, and employment are open to people from every creed, race, ethnicity, sex, ability, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Indwell’s leadership are motivated by the example of Jesus Christ as reflected in Indwell’s statement of faith. Indwell engages with diverse communities; we actively identify and remove barriers that prevent people from accessing and participating in our services and organization.