Supportive Housing Worker

SUPPORTIVE HOUSING WORKER

Toronto Mental Health Justice (MHJ) & Scarborough Mental Health Justice (MHJ)

 (2) Two Bargaining Unit, Permanent Full-Time Positions

 Existing Vacancies

 Monday-Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm

Compensation: $29.40/hour-$34.11/hour

About Cota

Cota is an accredited not-for-profit organization that has been providing community-based support to people living with mental health and cognitive challenges for over 50 years. At present, our wide array of services delivers much needed support to over 4,000 people/year who live with mental health challenges, psychogeriatric mental health conditions, acquired brain injuries, developmental disabilities, dual diagnoses and/or the experience of homelessness. These services include, but are not limited to, case management, supportive housing and adult day program services. A full listing of our services can be viewed on our website at  https://cotainspires.ca/

Cota is presently seeking a dynamic and innovative individual to join our amazing team in the capacity of the role outlined within this posting. Followed by our mission to support individuals with mental health and cognitive challenges to live well within their communities, we strive toward a vision of a supportive, inclusive society where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. If you feel you have the skills and qualifications to perform the duties of this role while consistently exemplifying Cota’s values Hope, Respect, Dedication, Equity, Accountability, Collaboration and Innovation, we would love to hear from you.

Role Overview

The Supportive Housing Worker will provide housing coordination to an assigned group of service users within the Toronto East and West areas, and work in partnership with those service users to secure and maintain their housing stability. They will seek input from the service user to develop independent living skills to maintain housing stability and achieve mental health stability by pursuing their personal recovery. The Supportive Housing Worker will contribute to the development of comprehensive client-centered assessments and treatment plans and provide community-based care including education, crisis intervention and linking to community resources.

About the Team

Cota’s Supportive Housing Programs are provided across the entire city of Toronto and operate within a Housing First model of care, guided by a commitment to provide people experiencing homelessness with access to safe, affordable, and supportive housing as a foundational component of their recovery journey. The Scarborough MHJ Program serves tenants living in Scarborough, and Toronto MHJ Program serves tenants living in the City of Toronto.

The Supportive Housing Worker will work together with Housing Coordinators and their respective Manager(s) to provide housing and support services to individuals who are exiting homelessness, living with mental health challenges, and may have co-occurring addictions or involvement/risk of involvement with the justice system. 

Responsibilities: 

• Conduct face-to-face assessments with clients at their locations including but not limited to home, shelters and hospitals.
• Initiate services to clients at the point of intake to ensure that proper assessment and initial service response occurs.
• Develop coordinated care plans with/ for clients and complete the Ontario Common Assessment of Need (OCAN) and other assessments as required.
• Build and maintain positive working relationships with new and existing landlords, working collaboratively with landlords to address any tenant related issues or disputes.
• Record client status/progress using the appropriate documentation system.
• Interact with and support service team to secure new units and maintain units for service users that acquire housing.
• Assist with the search for and acquisition of appropriate housing units as may be required within the program.
• Work in partnership with the service user to develop Housing/Recovery Plans.
• Work collaboratively with service users to identify housing maintenance skill gaps (e.g cleaning, cooking, paying rent), and develop and implement support plans to teach these skills and develop routines.
• Interact directly with referral source, physicians, and other services involved in client’s care.
• Collaborate with other systems, organizations and individuals from courts, probation, short-term residential beds program, hospital and community to ensure a well-coordinated service system.

Qualifications:

Education

• A minimum of a Community College Diploma in a field relevant to the target population. Higher level post-secondary education will be considered an asset.

Experience

• A minimum of 2 years direct or transferable experience suitable to working effectively with the relevant target population.
• Addictions certificate plus one-year experience or two years working in addiction will be see as an asset.
• Experience, alignment and commitment to harm reduction.

        Knowledge & Skills

• Knowledge and appreciation of housing issues as applicable to the target population.
• Knowledge of community resources relevant to the target population being served and/or demonstrated ability to search for applicable resources/information.
• Knowledge of legislation and regulations including Residential Tenancies Act.
• Knowledge of eviction prevention strategies.
• Knowledge of a housing first philosophy.
• Good crisis management and dispute resolution skills.
• Good interpersonal and communication skills (verbal and written).
• Basic computer literacy (Word, E-mail, Internet).
• Proven ability to develop and implement integrated treatment/housing plans related to relapse prevention and harm reduction in collaboration with other involved service providers.
• Basic understanding of different psychiatric conditions.
• Sensitive to challenges experienced by marginalized population groups such as poverty, access issues, mental health and addictions.

Other

• Conduct visits in the clients’ homes, hostels, hospitals and other community settings working in sometimes difficult conditions, including hoarding.
• Comfortable working with a broad range of client groups.
• Must have access to a vehicle.

Application Details:

Please complete the application below before June 3, 2025 at 4:00pm.

Benefits:

Upon successful completion of a three-month period of employment, permanent full-time and permanent part-time staff working more than 20 hours per week will be eligible for employer-paid group insurance benefits. These employer-paid benefits will include: 

•         Extended health care

•         Life insurance

•         Accidental death and dismemberment insurance

•         Dental care

•         Travel assistance

•         Vision care

Permanent full-time and permanent part-time staff working more than 20 hours per week are also required to enroll in employee-paid long-term disability coverage.

Additional Information:

Interview Process: Cota may choose to conduct parts/all of the hiring process virtually. Please note that as part of maintaining an agile workforce, all Cota staff may be required to be reasonably reassigned to support the operational needs of our essential services.

Screening Process: Please note that Cota uses AI to screen potential applicants for all roles.

We would like to thank all those that apply; however, due to high volumes of interest, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Thank you, Cota's HR Department.

 __________________________________________________________________

Hope, respect, dedication, equity, accountability, teamwork, and innovation are key values of Cota. We are dedicated to promoting a diverse and inclusive workplace, upholding dignity, and acknowledging each person's individual contributions and potential as an equal-opportunity employer. We uphold the Ontario Human Right Code and strongly encourage applications from people of color, women, Indigenous Peoples, people with disabilities, LGBTQ2S+ people, and others who provide various viewpoints. Cota ensures an accessible hiring process in line with the AODA principles, providing accommodations for applicants with disabilities. For any accommodation requests, please contact hr_recruitment@cotainspires.ca