Crisis Response Worker (CRW) ANCHOR

Career Opportunity

Position Title:                 Crisis Response Worker (CRW)– ANCHOR

                                      (Alternate Neighborhood Crisis Response)

Classification:               Crisis Response Worker

Job Type:                     Regular, 1 FTE. Day, evening, overnight,  and weekend shifts will be required

Direction:                         Family and Community Services

Locations:                    55 Eccles and 400 Cooper Street                         

Reporting to:                  Manager, ANCHOR

Compensation:             $32.91/hr - $39.71/hr plus a comprehensive compensation package 

Deadline to apply:       This posting will remain open until the position is filled.

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About us

We are Somerset West Community Health Centre (SWCHC), a non-profit, community-governed organization that serves over 18,000 clients annually. Established in 1978, SWCHC provides a wide range of health care services such as primary health care, health promotion, community development, mental health, and harm reduction. We are deeply connected to the communities we serve and committed to removing barriers to accessing services for people who experience vulnerabilities because of their age, income, ability, sexual orientation or gender identity, and language or culture.

 SWCHC strives to ensure that our team reflects the communities we serve. We work within an anti-racist, anti-oppressive framework that acknowledges the existence and impacts of systemic racism and seeks to ensure that systems are fair and equitable for everyone.

What the Program Entails

The ANCHOR Program is an innovative pilot project that will provide a community-based, non-police response and follow-up for individuals experiencing crises in the Centretown and Somerset West catchment areas. The project is a collaborative initiative. Partners include Centretown and Somerset West Community Health Centre, the City of Ottawa, the Ottawa Guiding Council on Mental Health and Addictions, Community Navigation of Eastern Ontario (CNEO) and other community interest holders.

Reporting to the Manager, ANCHOR Team, and under the supervision of Team Leads, the Crisis Response Workers are responsible for direct response to calls for service as assessed and triaged by operators at 911 and 211.

The ANCHOR pilot will bring staff from two community health centres together as one team. Staff will have one CHC as their primary employer but will work rotations in both catchment areas. Both CHCs are committed to working together in an integrated fashion to ensure seamless coordinated supervision of and support to staff, and care to clients. This position will require evening, overnight and weekend shifts on a rotational basis.

What You’ll Do

The Crisis Response workers (CRWs) will work directly with individuals who either self-identify or whose behaviours indicate they are experiencing a crisis related to the irmental health, substance use or both. The CRWs will use anti-racist, anti-oppressive and harm reduction frameworks in assessing, de-escalating and responding to situations they encounter. Exercising sound clinical judgement, coupled with a high level of mental health and substance use experience and de-escalation skills, the CRW ensures excellent client care and community responsiveness.

The CRW’ s primary responsibility is to provide an urgent, compassionate response to people facing multiple barriers to care due to inequities related to social determinants of health, who would benefit from a community-based response and are not in need of intervention from police or paramedics. The CRW engages individuals and assesses the appropriate level of intervention and support required. The CRW- ANCHOR is skilled at systems navigation and has a high level of knowledge of the key resources and services available to support the needs and goals of clients. They are skilled at advocating with and for clients to ensure equitable access to care and support. Excellent collaborative and relationship building skills ensure the ability to engage program partners, stakeholders and community resources to support and stabilise the individual in crisis. Crisis Response Workers will be based out of Centretown and/ or Somerset West Community Health Centre main locations but will spend the majority of their time in the community. The abilities to drive a Centre vehicle and provide a clean driving abstract are required

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What We’re Looking For 

• Post-secondary degree in health care, social sciences or a related field, or equivalent combination of training, lived and professional experience.


• 3-5 years relevant experience in assertive engagement, crisis intervention, working with people who are living with mental health and substance use concerns.


• Additional training in areas relevant to the position, including: trauma-informed care, best practices related to concurrent disorders o harm reduction principles, recovery principles within mental health, GBT2SQ+ issues / Trans Health services, refugee and immigration issues, settlement services, issues relating to gender-based and intimate partner violence; safety planning


• Demonstrated understanding of and experience with de-escalation and Motivational Interviewing


• Extensive experience, skills and knowledge in working with individuals living with complex mental health, substance use health and chronic health issues.


• High level of knowledge related to trauma, mental health and substance use health disorders


• Experience in providing outreach and crisis response services within a substance use health framework


• Thorough knowledge of social and health service resources within Ottawa


• Thorough knowledge of rapid access to community resources related to mental health, substance use health and basic needs, including opioid management programs; harm reduction services; Consumption and Treatment Sites; counselling services; drop ins and food banks; shelters and housing resources; domestic violence resources; newcomer and cultural services.


• Demonstrated ability to provide crisis intervention and support


• Experience working with equity deserving populations including: youth, LGBT2SQ+ individuals, newcomers, individuals who are unhoused or precariously housed, individuals with concurrent disorders.

What You Bring to the Table

• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively across multidisciplinary teams


• Demonstrated ability to work with marginalized populations within a trauma-informed, anti-racist and anti-oppressive lens


• Excellent verbal and written communication skills


• Flexibility, clinical judgement, initiative and ability to work in a fast-paced environment


• Demonstrated effective relational skills, including the use of de-escalation, motivational interviewing, cognitive behaviour therapy and other communication and relational tools to engage with clients and determine goals of care.


• Knowledge of required provincial, federal and municipal programs relevant to


• populations served, e.g. housing, ID, immigration status, social assistance, etc.


• Ability to work well independently and as part of multidisciplinary team


• Demonstrated flexibility and effectiveness within a rapidly changing environment, short deadlines and multiple priorities


• Exceptional attention to detail


• Knowledge of acute symptoms related to serious mental illness and/or substance use; and residual effects of major mental illness


• Demonstrated ability to deal effectively with challenging situations, maintain healthy boundaries and exhibit sound judgement for personal, team and client safety


• Ability to work evenings, overnights and weekends on a rotational basis


• Proficient with Windows-based computer systems including email and database programs


• Driver’s License (G class) required to operate motor vehicle

Language designation:

• English and French: Spoken & Written


• Other languages are an asset

Desirable (please clearly self-identify on your application):

• Lived experience related to mental health, substance use and/ or homelessness (please clearly self identify)


• Identifies as member of Indigenous, Black and/ or racialized communities (please clearly self-identify)


• The ability to communicate in any other language (e.g., Arabic, Mandarin, Somali, Spanish, Anishinaabemowin, Algonquin, Cree, Inuktitut, Ojibwe).

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Your Day-to-Day at a Glance

1. Frontline Crisis Response:

*Provides timely support to individuals who are assessed by 211 and 911 operators to be experiencing a crisis related to substance use and/ or mental health, and do not require emergency police or paramedic intervention. This response may include by is not limited to:

• Developing and maintaining therapeutic rapport with clients experiencing mental health and/ or substance use crises, who may not have initiated the call for service themselves, while simultaneously establishing and maintaining healthy boundaries with clients.


• Making a range of referrals for clients depending on their individual and culturally specific needs, to stabilize the crisis and bridge clients to ongoing care, as appropriate.

*Attending various locations to respond to crises as designated by 211 and 911 operators, which may include outdoor and indoor public spaces, businesses and private residences.

• Providing emotional and psychosocial support to clients in crisis situations such as        de-escalation; suicide prevention / intervention; interpersonal and family violence;            performing risk assessments and safety planning/contracts as appropriate; overdose        prevention and overdose response.


• Responding to the unique needs of cultural groups and priority populations, including          Indigenous, Black and racialized individuals, newcomers, people who use drugs and            unhoused individuals, using an anti-racist/anti-oppressive lens.


• Responding to situational demands and crises and calling on emergency services as          required.

*Acts as an immediate referral point for individuals in crisis, presenting with varying degrees of complexities, needs, while operating within the context of a fast-paced environment. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Supporting and/or connecting clients/ community members to the appropriate resources and services, internally and/or externally.


• Triaging and assessing client needs and priorities and ensuring clients are told about and linked to the appropriate services within CCHC, SWCHC and/or the broader community, including the ANCHOR post-crisis follow up worker.

*Providing harm reduction education, supplies, information, and referrals related to safer drug use.

• Assessing high-risk clients/ clients presenting with signs/symptoms of overdose,                monitoring and responding accordingly, consistent with relevant policy and                        procedures.


• De-escalating high-risk situations when clients present with dysregulated, aggressive        and threatening behaviours, ensuring staff and client safety and working                              collaboratively with Team Leads, other staff members and emergency services as                appropriate and consistent with CCHC and SWCHC’s protocols.

*Collects client information, which may include sensitive and health care information, and ensures accurate documentation of client interventions in client records database.

*Works in collaboration with SWCHC and CCHC management to ensure quality care and implement quality improvement initiatives

2. Advocacy, Coordination of Services

*Coordinates access to immediate care including but not limited to

• Access to shelter and transportation, connections to medical and other resources (at CCHC, SWCHC and in community), interpretation, etc

*Advocates, communicates and collaborates with external agencies and institutions regarding immediate care for clients

• This includes but is not limited to landlords/housing providers, hospitals, probation/bail officers, social assistance caseworkers, lawyers, settlement workers, intensive case managers, allied healthcare professionals, mental health care providers, child protection services, domestic violence shelters and resources, schools, provincial and federal institutions, etc

*Serves as an advocate for clients/community members internally and externally to facilitate effective and efficient service delivery, including services related social determinants of health

3. Staff/Student/Volunteer Training and Support:

*Collaborates with other SWCHC and CCHC staff regarding shared care for clients with complex needs.

*Supervises students and/or volunteers, when applicable.

*Tracks and orders supplies for day-to-day functioning of programs, eg. shower supplies, point of care, donations.

*Participates and actively engages in team meetings, centre wide meetings and ongoing training related to best practices in mental health and substance use.

4. Resource development and partnerships:

*Collaborates with relevant SWCHC and CCHC staff and community partners on relevant issues and programs

*Develops and maintains partner relationships, including liaising with other community groups and resources to facilitate cross-referral of clients and to generally better meet the needs of clients

*Researches new resources, creates / updates resources and communications tools regarding internal /external services and resources for client use as well as for internal teams

*Brings forward to team and management ideas for programming and service delivery efficiencies and innovations as well as requests from community agencies and partners to develop programming related to increasing service capacity in the sector

*As needed and on case by case basis, may be asked to speak on behalf of the Centres on major issues affecting our priority populations

Works in accordance with the provisions of applicable health and safety legislation and all CCHC/SWCHC’s policies and procedures related to occupational health and safety

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Somerset West Community Health Centre is an equal opportunity employer who values the diversity of individuals in our programs and services.

This posting is for a currently vacant position that we intend to fill through this recruitment process. 

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.