Summary Positions:
Grid: 38, $28.56/hour
Work Locations: Westshore AVI Health Centre
Hours of Work: 30 hours per week
Schedule: Monday: 10:30 – 6:30, Tuesday: 9:00 – 5:00, Wednesday: 9:00 – 5:00 and Thursday: 9:00 – 5:00
Start Date: ASAP
End Date: March 31, 2022
To Apply: Please submit your resume and cover letter to jobs@avi.org by 5pm on Sunday, May 23, 2021.
Job Summary:
Under the direct supervision of the Manager of Community Health – Victoria and Westshore, or designate, the Westshore Social Worker is responsible for the delivery of support, case management, advocacy, harm reduction and outreach services to individuals accessing the Westshore AVI Health Centre. The Social Worker will work as part of a multidisciplinary health team of peer supports, MOAs, Nurses, Outreach and Physicians to provide a broad range of psychosocial and health-related supports to individuals in accordance with the clinic’s goals and objectives. This role is key to the clinic’s goal of keeping people engaged in care and maximizing treatment outcomes.
The Westshore Social Worker will carry a caseload of clients and will be responsible for ensuring supportive case management services are offered within a harm reduction and health promotion framework. The Westshore Social Worker works in consultation with the patient to assess needs and develop goals.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
Under the direct supervision of the Manager or designate, the Westshore Social Worker will be engaged in the following activities:
- Proactively engage with people who use drugs and individuals who are living with, or at risk for, HIV/hepatitis C using a collaborative, person-centered approach grounded in harm reduction and trauma-informed practice.
- Proactively support patients of the Health Centre to remain connected in care including early identification of at-risk clients, regular reviews of client charts, assessments of clinic policies/procedures, OAT support and maintenance.
- Provide intake assessments and follow up for patients that could include mental health support, crisis intervention, harm reduction education and/or resources, advocacy, referral, outreach, and systems navigation via email, phone, text, or in person.
- Provides advocacy to patients by performing duties such as speaking on their behalf in areas such as housing, medical, legal, MCFD, and other support and government agencies.
- Makes appropriate referrals to patients and their family to other health and support services.
- Assists patients with requirements of obtaining government income assistance such as PWD, Income Assistance, OAS, CPP, EI, etc.
- Provides education on recognizing and responding to overdose, including providing Naloxone training and distributing Naloxone kits to clients, as well as their families, friends and loved ones.
- Provides outreach services as needed in the community including street outreach, shelters, hospital and home visits as appropriate.
- Distributes and recovers harm reduction supplies, and provides education and support on safer drug use, safer sex, HIV, hepatitis C, and STIs.
- Works in collaboration with partner agencies to provide a continuum of services within AVI and the Island Health Authority.
- Maintains an internal referral list to social work performing such duties as assessing, accepting, rejecting and triaging referrals to social work from other clinic providers
- Completes and maintains program documentation such as statistical reports for submission to the program manager.
- Maintains both paper and electronic confidential client files in the clinic’s EMR.
- Maintains the safety of all program spaces by following protocols related to violence prevention and critical incidents (such as overdose and other medical emergencies).
- Provides support to peer workers, MOA, Nurses and physicians as needed.
- Assists in providing a welcoming atmosphere for patients.
- Participates in regular supervision, staff meetings and staff development opportunities.
- Performs other duties as assigned.
Professional Registration or License:
Registered as a Social Worker with the BC College of Social Workers
Qualifications:
- University degree in Social Work and registered as a Social Worker with the BC College of Social Workers
- Have a minimum of four year’s relevant work experience
- Valid Class 5 BC Driver’s License and use of own vehicle for work purposes
- Demonstrated practice of social justice, cultural humility, client-centered focused and empowerment models and public health approaches and models of social support and health care.
- Direct service delivery and advocacy experience with community-based and provincial support services and systems (financial aid, housing, healthcare, justice system, etc.).
- Demonstrated experience in the delivery of relevant formal counselling and assessment techniques (ex. Brief Solution Focused Therapy, Stages of Change, etc.)
- Case Management skills including treatment/care planning, advocacy, and referral.
- Demonstrated understanding of and experience working with people who use drugs and seeking or receiving opioid substitution therapies and safe supply and ability to proactively reach out and engage clients in care to maximize treatment outcomes.
- Demonstrated empathic observer invested in respectful relationship-building.
- Demonstrated skills, experience and knowledge of OAT and harm reduction both theoretical and practical, including basic medical terminology, and knowledge in the areas of safer drug use, safer sex, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C, mental health, etc.
- Experience managing hostile interactions, utilizing non-violent communication and diffusing techniques.
- Commitment to harm reduction, and trauma responsive principles and practices.
Skills and Abilities:
- Commitment to honor local Indigenous communities and to recognize the ongoing impacts of colonial violence.
- Committed to social justice, equity, anti-racism and decolonization.
- Ability to problem solve with creativity, flexibility and assertiveness in dealing with complex issues.
- Demonstrated ability to establish rapport, provide support and advocate for a diverse range of clientele including individuals who are actively using substances and living with significant health challenges.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and demonstrated commitment to working within a collaborative team approach.
- Demonstrated time management and personal organization skills to effectively support a full caseload.
- Experience diffusing and de-escalating potentially hostile interactions.
- Ability to work effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team and to carry out independent responsibilities without supervision.
- Excellent written communication skills including the ability to accurately document and report.
- Proficiency with electronic record keeping in an EMR.
We encourage applications from, but not limited to, Indigenous persons, persons of colour, persons living with disabilities, persons who use/d illicit drugs, persons with experience of sex work, and persons representing diverse genders and sexualities.