Reporting to the Resource Centre Coordinator, the IYPP Mentor is responsible for assisting young people ages 12-24 transitioning into adulthood and independence. This position is specifically dedicated to supporting young women and/or nonbinary people in this age group. The IYPP Mentor will work Tuesday - Saturday 10 am - 6 pm. This is a contract position and runs until Sept 31 2021.

The IYPP Mentor will run regular focus groups/talking circles, provide regular one on one mentorship to 10 individuals over the span of 5.5 months, and offer workshops on life skills. The IYPP Mentor will support youth with children to cover child care services, and will also support youth with any needs related to transportation, food, and costs for essential items. Ultimately, the IYPP Mentor will support young women and nonbinary people tp improve their skills and knowledge of the barriers that may be impacting their participation in employment, school, and the community, while providing them the direct support needed to reach their goals.

As stated, the IYPP Mentor will run regular talking circles, which occur 3 times weekly at the same times on the same days from April to September 2021. Any young women and non-binary people are welcome to join, and the focus will be on discussing healthy relationships, building trust within a small community, and learning and growing together. SideDoor supports many youth who have dealt with or continue to deal with gender-based violence, and who would benefit from these talking circles. The IYPP Mentor will be responsible for providing food during meetings and providing transportation to those who need it.

In addition, the IYPP Mentor will run two 2.5-month intensive mentoring programs, each offered to five young women and / or nonbinary people. From May 1 - July 15th (and July 15 - Sept 30th), the program facilitator will spend at least 5 hours a week one on one with the 5 participants in the mentorship program. This will be a structured program that is individualized to the participant and based on the goals set by the youth at the beginning of the 2.5 month program.

• Maintain a caseload of 5 youth from intake to transition from the program by connecting with educational, employment, housing, life skills, addictions, mental health and other resources in the communities
• Actively support the practice guidelines, program goals and expectations of the youth case management program

• Work with the youth to identify social, recreational, and educational services in the community that will meet their needs

• Provide direct daily contact with each youth with a minimum of 5-hour one-to-one contact per week

• Maintain regular contact with service supports (guardian, YHSSA, Justice, School, Employers, etc) and other professionals and supports involved with the youth as appropriate

• Maintain regular contact with youth’s family/important people in the youth’s lives

• Ensure the youth is involved in the development and ongoing review of their service and transition plans with an emphasis on developing skills (i.e. life skills, communication, problem solving, budgeting, and behavior management) in natural teaching situations

• Ensure a safe space for all including 2SLGBTQQIPAA+ individuals

• Connect with the youth in community settings

• Attend and participate in weekly/as needed meetings with supervisor

• Adhere to the Child and Family Services Caregiver Discipline Agreement

• Ensure the cultural and spiritual beliefs of all youth are supported

• Manage a small programming budget for 5.5 months of programming (including food and materials)

• Coordinate transportation for youth who need it, and manage a small transportation budget

• Coordinate childcare with / for youth in the program who have children, and manage a small childcare budget

• Ensure all youth (and their children if they have any) have their basic needs met, and manage a small budget allocated for purchasing essential items for youth

• Support Resource Centre staff while on site to run the space

Supervision

• Supervise youth in the community, including at the Sidedoor Resource Centre, and ensure that boundaries are adhered to at all times

• Provide supervision that is appropriate for the youth’s developmental age

Intake

• Ensure appropriate documents are signed prior to the youth’s intake

• Participate in the screening process with supervisor

• Coordinate the youth’s transitioning into the program including orientation to the facility and outline of expectations

Crisis Management

• Recognize potential emergency situations and intervene when necessary

• Analyze situations accurately to mitigate risks

• Ensure safety risks are identified and the appropriate intervention is applied

• Complete safety plans with youth where appropriate

• Develop strategies to deal with potentially dangerous situations; i.e., suicide threats, AWOL’s, youth’s aggressive behavior

• Assess, evaluate and plan to prevent crisis situations whenever possible

• Demonstrate knowledge of safety precautions dealing with environmental working conditions such as potential verbal and physical aggression

• Demonstrated capacity to implement suicide risk assessments, appropriate safety planning and response

Teamwork

• Actively support the mission, vision, and goals of the Side Door Ministries

• Work collaboratively with other staff within the organization

• Actively participate in team meetings, professional development activities, staff retreat, and other Centre activities

• Work in partnership with other community organizations

Reporting

• Document youth’s progress in their electronic file
• Document any other reports as directed by supervisor

• Punctual and reliable

• Strong social and emotional skills

• Strong communication skills necessary to confidently communicate with youth, coworkers, supervisors, people in the community, professional people, law enforcement, court workers, education workers, etc.

• Experiencing working with youth, youth who are experiencing homelessness, youth who have experienced varying levels of trauma, and youth with disabilities(ies)

• training and/or experience regarding gender based violence and inclusive practices that support the self-determination of nonbinary people and women of any race and culture

• An understanding of homelessness in Canada, homelessness interventions, and factors that lead to homelessness

• An understanding of racism, sexism, transphobia, homophobia, and various forms of descrimination

• An understanding of the history of Northwest Territories including impacts of colonization and residential schools

• Prioritize cultural safety and cultural humility

• Basic/advanced computer skills, the ability to read and write on software including Microsoft Word and Google Docs

• Experience writing case notes

• Experience coordinating case conferences

• Ability to collaborate well with others

• Ability to respond with empathy

• High level of adaptability

• Confidence in crisis and emergency situations

• An equivalent combination of relevant education (college diploma in youth work, social work, or university degree in social work related field) and relevant life experience (lived experience or previous work experience in this field)

• Speak and write in English