One (1) Bargaining Unit, Permanent Full-Time Position

Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm

Existing Vacancy

Compensation: $29.40/hour-$34.11/hour

About Cota

Cota is an accredited not-for-profit organization that has been providing community-based support to people living with mental health and cognitive challenges for over 50 years. At present, our wide array of services delivers much needed support to over 4,000 people/year who live with mental health challenges, psychogeriatric mental health conditions, acquired brain injuries, developmental disabilities, dual diagnoses and/or the experience of homelessness. These services include, but are not limited to, case management, supportive housing and adult day program services. A full listing of our services can be viewed on our website at

Role Overview

Follow-Up Housing Support Worker provides intensive follow-up support for individuals that are housed by the city, with extremely high needs (Addictions, ABI, mental health issues), and require up to 5 visits a week in order to stay housed. Our Keys to Housing Stability follow up services are committed to being flexible and responsive to the unique needs and desires of each client .

About the Team

COTA is one of the community partners in the " Keys to Housing Stability " program, with the City of Toronto. This program works with street-involved, homeless individuals and its goal is to end street homelessness within the City of Toronto utilizing the Housing First strategy. The principles behind this strategy involves a focus on housing individuals directly from the street, providing services in a client centred, solution focused manner, greater system coordination of existing services and resources, and providing a range of innovative programs designed to meet specific needs of homeless individuals in accessing housing.

Primary Responsibilities:

- Outreach supports and the development of a trusting relationship between the client and the service provider
- One-on-one support to provide a range of practical housing and housing stabilization options
- Developing a strong relationship with the landlord and stay informed about rental payments
- Encouraging and accompanying on community integration initiatives
- Collaborating in the development of an individualized housing plan that respects client's personal preferences and autonomy
- Support in accessing basic necessities such as food, clothing, and furniture bank
- Support in accessing case management if needed after discharge
- Collaborative development of a personalized pre-determined safety plan
- Collaborative development and implementation of an individualized recovery plan




- Assistance to achieve/maintain optimum health and wellness

Direct follow-up support in all areas, such as:

- Education about the nature of mental health challenges
- Support and education to care givers and/or the person's support network, as appropriate
- Development of self-management strategies
- Encouragement, emotional support and motivation
- Development of personal support networks
- Development/maintenance of general life skills
- Support in maintaining housing
- Referring to and accessing other desired/needed community and primary health care services (referrals to primary health care services as may be required)
- Collaboration with external stakeholders and/or partner agencies
- Independent and team collaborative work

Qualifications:

Education:

- A University Degree or Community College Diploma in a related field

Experience:

- Experience in community mental health and in supportive housing settings
- Experience working with developmentally delayed, homelessness and/or addiction problems is preferable
- Previous working and/or reporting relationship with external stakeholders and/or partner agencies is an asset
- Clinical experience and demonstrated ability to engage and connect with people with serious mental health problems and homeless issues

Knowledge and Skills:

- Robust interpersonal skills
- Ability to write reports as required by funders
- Proficient with computer software programs including Word, Excel, Outlook
- Excellent knowledge of community resources specific to the homeless and/or demonstrated ability to search for applicable resources/information

Other:

- Be available to work day & evening
- Significant travel within GTA is necessary
- Must have access to a vehicle (Please note that access to a vehicle means owning, borrowing, or renting a vehicle. Alternatively, it can include using ride services such as Uber, cabs, and taxis at no cost to Cota).

We are committed to fostering a workplace that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve. We recognize lived experience as a valuable form of knowledge and encourage applications from individuals with a wide range of experiences, identities, and perspectives - including those with lived experience of housing insecurity, mental health or substance use recovery, or engagement with community supports.



Accommodations are available throughout the hiring process upon request.

Upon successful completion of a three-month period of employment, permanent full-time and permanent part-time staff working more than 20 hours per week will be eligible for employer-paid group insurance benefits. These employer-paid benefits will include:

- Extended health care
- Life insurance
- Accidental death and dismemberment insurance
- Dental care

Permanent full-time and permanent part-time staff working more than 20 hours per week are also required to enroll in employee-paid long-term disability coverage.

Additional Information:

Interview Process

Cota may choose to conduct parts/all of the hiring process virtually. Please note that as part of maintaining an agile workforce, all Cota staff may be required to be reasonably reassigned to support the operational needs of our essential services.

Screening Process

Please note that Cota uses AI to screen potential applicants for all roles.

For any accommodation requests, please contact hr

About Cota Health

COTA Health (Cota) is an accredited, not-for-profit, community-based organization that has been supporting adults with mental health and cognitive challenges to live well within their communities for over 45 years. We provide person-centred supports that assist individuals to find inspiration and hope in their inherent strengths and support them to pursue meaningful change in their lives, as they define it. Cota also works collaboratively with our funders, our partners and other stakeholders, across the provincial health and social service systems, to inspire positive change in the way that services are delivered to individuals living with mental health and cognitive challenges.

Cota is collecting personal information from you as part of the recruitment and selection process. Cota recognizes the importance of privacy and is committed to ensuring the privacy of your personal information collected and/or received by us.

Hope, Respect, Dedication, Equity, Accountability, Collaboration, and Innovation are key values of Cota. We are dedicated to promoting a diverse and inclusive workplace, upholding dignity, and acknowledging each person's individual contributions and potential as an equal-opportunity employer. We uphold the Ontario Human Right Code and strongly encourage applications from people of color, women, Indigenous Peoples, people with disabilities, LGBTQ2S+ people, and others who provide various viewpoints. Cota ensures an accessible hiring process in line with the AODA principles, providing accommodations for applicants with disabilities.

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📌 Follow-Up Housing Support Worker (Toronto)
🏢 COTA Health
📍 Toronto