(Daytime Hours 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM)
Full-time position
Contract to March 31, 2027 with the possibility of extension
Wabano is seeking a dedicated and compassionate Community Street Outreach Worker to join our team. This role is ideal for someone who is committed to supporting people experiencing homelessness, and helping them access housing and community services.
The Community Street Outreach Worker will engage with individuals on the streets and in encampments. You will provide basic support and supplies, assist with obtaining documentation, and accompany clients to appointments. This is a hands-on, high-impact role requiring kindness, patience, and the ability to work in high-stress situations. Additionally, this position will be responsible for supporting the team in handling crisis situations and providing short-term crisis counselling to clients in order to stabilize them.
- Engage with people experiencing homelessness on the streets, in encampments, and other community spaces
- Provide client-centered, culturally based supports to assist Aboriginal people with obtaining income supports, and other community services/resources to facilitate obtaining or retaining housing; accessing community legal, medical, financial assistance, housing, employment, transportation and other referral services;
- Serve as a first contact for clients and conduct intake in order to determine client needs and appropriate supports;
- Provide services to clients at a time and location which best meets their needs, which includes evenings and weekends as directed by manager;
- Build trusting relationships and provide compassionate support
- Assist clients with documentation and processes required for housing applications
- Accompany clients to appointments, housing viewings, or community services as needed
- Distribute essential supplies (food, clothing, hygiene items) and information about available resources
- Respond to high-stress and unpredictable situations with calm and respectful care
- Collaborate with team members and community partners to ensure clients receive holistic support
- Maintain accurate records and follow reporting procedures
- Experience working with people experiencing homelessness or vulnerable populations
- Strong interpersonal skills, empathy, and the ability to build trust quickly
- Ability to walk and be mobile for extended periods, sometimes in challenging conditions
- Comfort working in high-stress and unpredictable environments
- Excellent communication and teamwork skills
- Commitment to client-centered, trauma-informed, and harm-reduction approaches
- Ability to handle confidential information with discretion
- Lived experience with homelessness or working in street outreach programs
- Knowledge of housing systems, social services, and local resources
- First Aid/CPR certification
- Familiarity with Indigenous communities and culturally safe practices
Range $54,000 – $58,000 per year + Benefits
You would be a part of a collaborative and supportive work environment. Additionally, you would have access to:
- Collaborative and Supportive Work Environment;
- Comprehensive Group Health and Dental Insurance Coverage
- A Defined Benefit Pension Plan/ Employee Pension Plan with an equal contribution by Wabano (HOOPP)
- A Wellness Spending Account (Renewed Annually)
- Critical Illness Coverage
- An Employee Assistance Program
- Four (4) weeks paid vacation time
Please submit your application to [email protected]. Application materials include a cover letter and resume. This opportunity will remain open until filled, so tell us your story early!
Wabano is an inclusive and equitable organization, encouraging applications from qualified candidates, including persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities. The position is open to all qualified applicants, although preference will be given to candidates of Indigenous ancestry (please self-identify in your application).
Wabano is committed to providing employment accommodation in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. If contacted for an employment opportunity or interviewing, please advise if you require accommodation.
We thank all those who apply. Only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.
“This posting is for an existing vacancy. All applications are reviewed by our hiring team; Wabano does not use artificial intelligence tools or artificial intelligence-enabled applications to screen or select candidates.”
There are three Indigenous organizations in Ottawa who are funded to implement coordinated access in Ottawa: Wabano, Minwaashin Lodge, TI (Tungasuvvingat Inuit) and Odawa Native Friendship Centre.
Currently, everyone who is in shelter or living unhoused are referred to Wabano to complete an intake and then placed on our Indigenous Coordinated Access waitlist to be matched to one of the housing at either Wabano, Minwaashin Ldoge or TI (Tungasuvvingat Inuit).
From Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy Directives
A coordinated access system is the process by which individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness or at-risk of homelessness are directed to community-level access points where trained workers use a common assessment tool to evaluate the individual or family’s depth of need, prioritize them for housing support services and then help to match them to available housing focused interventions.
Quality coordinated access systems share several features, including a centralized database that collects and displays real-time data on clients and available housing and supports; clear access points of entry; common assessment; standardized protocols; and resources (for example, staff) focused on ensuring that people can connect with appropriate housing and housing supports in an efficient manner.
Definitions:
- Access: the engagement point for the individual or family experiencing a housing crisis. This may include emergency shelters, mobile outreach teams, day centres, other community-based organizations and hotlines.
- Assessment: the process of gathering information about an individual or family accessing the crisis system.
- Prioritization: the process of determining the individual’s or family’s priority for housing based on information gathered through the assessment.
- Matching and referral: the process whereby the individual or family is matched to and offered housing based on project-specific eligibility, needs and preferences
