RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide goal-focused counselling for youth (18 and under) families and community members who are struggling with mental health issues.
• Provide assessment, referral and crisis counselling support services to immigrant/newcomer/ racialized youth over the helpline or text support platform or off-site locations such as PDSB schools.
• Provide support to clients to help reduce the need for more intensive and intrusive intervention, help reduce the severity of mental health problems or symptoms and strengthen coping and resilience.
• Manages cases: follows up by telephone; makes appropriate referrals; researches and coordinates external services such as child protection and youth justice.
• Assist youth to prioritize their crisis needs and facilitates referrals to the closest and most appropriate community services
• Assisting in the operation of the agency’s programs & services including information updating, compiling monthly statistics, activity and outcome report submitted on a monthly, quarterly and yearly
• Assists with tasks as delegated by the Counselling Lead & Head of Operations to be completed during downtime while on counselling shifts
• Attend monthly / biweekly staff counsellor meetings where required 

QUALIFICATIONS/SKILLS

• University degree in social work, psychology, criminal justice or related field
• Must have at least two years of experience working with children and families that have experienced trauma, violence or mental health issues
• Possess knowledge of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy
• Must be able to demonstrate sound judgement and ability to build rapport
• Strong communication skills in and out of the therapeutic environment
• Ability to utilize verbal de-escalation techniques to effectively provide crisis intervention
• Demonstrated skills in case management, assessment and intervention, advocacy
• Ability to multitask while maintaining high level of accuracy in data collection
• Excellent interpersonal, organizational, communication, presentation and facilitation skills
• Ability to work with diverse people and communities with awareness to socio-economic and cultural barriers
• Capability to handle multiple priorities with ease and professionalism; able to work in a fast-paced environment with minimal supervision
• Fluent in English and ability to speak, read and write second language is a definite asset.
• Strong communication (oral and written), and computer skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc.) and Web based databases (CTIMS)
• Adaptive to flexible working hours including evenings and weekends as needed
• Police Record Check for Vulnerable Sector is required as part of the hiring process
• Must have own transposition, driver license and insurance to use your vehicle for job related travelling

Please submit a one-page cover letter and resume as ONE PDF file. Please express in which role (paid/volunteer) you’re applying.

BENEFITS:

• Flexible schedule
• Work from home

PAID ROLE SCHEDULE:

• Up to 20 hours a month

VOLUNTEER ROLE SCHEDULE:

• The commitment of 3 shifts a month (for a total of 9 hours), can be completed among any of the following shifts based on availability.
  • Day Shift (12:00 PM to 3:00 PM)
  • Afternoon Shift (3:00 PM to 6:00 PM)
  • Evening Shift (6:00 PM to 9:00 PM)
  • Night Shift (9:00 PM to 12:00 AM)
  • Late Night (12:00 AM to 3:00 AM)