Youth Substance Use Outreach Worker

Alberni Drug & Alcohol Prevention Service is looking for a dynamic Youth Substance Use Outreach worker. We seek someone with a varied skill set to complement our service delivery team.  As part of Substance Use Response Programming, the YSUO worker will deliver services to youth in our community. This is a temporary position. The work is 13 weeks in duration, approx. 32 hours per week.

Key duties and Responsibilities:

Group Work:

Develop and deliver substance use prevention/ mental health resiliency-building support groups to youth.

One on One Support and Intervention:

• Target difficult to engage youth experiencing mental health and substance use problems.
• Provide intensive service to create and stabilize helping relationships with existing community and school based services. 
• Work in an integrated and coordinated manner to augment existing services.
• Work collaboratively and with a multi-disciplinary approach to address the unique needs of Youth experiencing mental health concern and risky relationship to substance.
• Liaise with community partners and service agencies, including  SD 70, MCFD, Youth Probation, RCMP, and Child and Youth Mental Health for reciprocal referrals.

     As the YSUO Worker, you effectively build supportive relationships with youth. You create a positive profile for youth services and supports, and assist youth to access appropriate community services through referrals. You possess strong crisis intervention skills, and have experience working with youth who are substance affected or who have mental health concerns. You are a skilled group facilitator.

     A commitment to trauma informed practice, and sensitivity to the social realities of youth whose life experiences include violence, substance misuse and mental health concerns is imperative in this role.  The successful candidate has a strong adherence to ethics, and a keen understanding of the theory, principles and best practices for child and youth care counselling and youth substance misuse. Knowledge of Youth Substance Use Services and Core Addictions Practice considered an asset.