Community Support Worker
Somerset West Community Health Centre
- Ottawa, ON
- Permanent
- Full-time
- 2–3 years’ experience in community-based work with emphasis on crisis intervention, case management, assertive engagement, mental health, and substance use.
- Experience with diverse and marginalized populations (newcomers, refugees, LGBT2SQ+, older adults, etc.).
- Experience in interdisciplinary teamwork, outreach, advocacy, and group facilitation.
- Experience supporting individuals facing trauma and systemic barriers
- Post-secondary degree in social sciences, health care, or related field, or an equivalent combination of formal training, professional, and lived experience.
- Bilingual (French/English) required.
- Other languages are considered a strong asset
- Suicide prevention, non-violent crisis intervention, and CPR/First Aid certification.
- Strong communication, de-escalation, motivational interviewing, and relational care skills.
- In-depth knowledge of social determinants of health, systems navigation, and acute mental health/substance use issues.
- Ability to assess safety risks, develop safety plans, and exercise sound judgment in high-pressure situations.
- Proficiency with electronic client record systems and basic computer applications.
- Strong organizational skills, ability to work collaboratively, and commitment to trauma-informed, harm reduction, and strength-based approaches.
- Ability to work flexible hours, including some evenings and weekends.
- Conduct risk assessments and provide immediate crisis intervention (virtual, in-person, or in the community).
- Provide emotional and practical support, service navigation, referrals, and advocacy.
- Assist clients with life skills, goal-setting, and accessing financial, legal, and social supports.
- Support clients in obtaining needed resources and services.
- Collaborate with community partners and service providers to stabilize client situations.
- Act as a strong advocate on individual and systemic issues.
- Provide outreach and group facilitation in community-based settings.
- Support recruitment, planning, and delivery of psycho-social and life-skills groups.
- Promote programs and connect clients to mainstream and community resources.
- Conduct intake assessments for counselling services.
- Use evidence-informed tools to assess readiness and service matching.
- Support client engagement between referral and first counselling appointment.
- Provide check-ins to maintain continuity of care.
- Maintain accurate and confidential client records.
- Prepare reports, documentation, and contribute to evaluation activities.
- Supervise students and volunteers, and support orientation of new staff.
- Actively participate in team meetings, case conferences, and organizational initiatives.
- Uphold occupational health and safety standards and participate in required training.
September 7th, 2025 by 5:00pm to:Somerset West Community Health Centre is an equal opportunity employer who values the diversity of individuals in our programs and services.We welcome and encourage applications from members of Indigenous, Black and racialized communities, Two-Spirit, nonbinary, LGBTQ+ people; people with disabilities; and members of other equity seeking groups. Applicants are encouraged to share accessibility needs in the application process, and every attempt will be made to accommodate them.We sincerely appreciate your interest in working with us. Due to high volume of applicants, we can neither confirm receipt of nor respond to inquiries regarding your application. Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.