MAP Van Support Worker - Casual

Job Description

MAP Van Support Worker

Job Title: MAP Van Support Worker

Hours/Days 10pm – 6am/7 days

Reports to: MAP Van Manager

Classification: Unique

Grid Level: Grid 10

Rate: $29.97/hr

JOB SUMMARY:

Reporting to the MAP Van Manager, MAP Van Drivers and Support Workers provide mobile outreach services and supports to women (trans inclusive and gender diverse folks) engaged in street-based sex work throughout Vancouver. MAP Drivers and Support Workers work as a team in a fast-paced environment to provide a safe and respectful environment for sex workers to receive resources, referrals and a safe place to take a break.

All WISH employees abide by the guiding principles of WISH by ensuring that each participant is treated with acceptance, caring, dignity and respect, in a non-judgmental manner.

ABOUT WISH

Based in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, WISH is the largest sex worker support organization in Canada. For more than forty years, WISH has offered a safe place of respite for street-based sex workers. The participants who access WISH services and programs are made most vulnerable due to extreme poverty, homelessness, social exclusion, violence, racism, discrimination, and the relentless effects of current and past trauma. WISH Drop-In Centre Society is an organization and space for women (cis and trans) and people of marginalized genders, including Two-Spirit, trans, and non-binary. For more information about WISH and our programs and services, visit our website: https://wish-vancouver.net/

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Ensure MAP services and resources can be equitably accessed by women in Vancouver’s street-based sex trade in a fair and non-judgemental way.
• Provide support to a constant flow of participants to ensure their access to basic resources, services, and supports, including information and referral, first aid supplies, harm reduction supplies and education, sex work supplies, clothing/toiletries/makeup donations, and snacks.
• Work one-on-one to assess participants’ need for other services and provides them with information on helping organizations and professionals such as community service agencies, counsellors, legal aid lawyers, physicians and mental health services. Recommends appropriate services to participants.
• Provide targeted safety and support by building healthy relationships with all participants, co-creating safety plans with participants, making service referrals, and offering additional supports, as needed and available.
• Provide job-shadowing for new staff. Model appropriate behaviours as well as the mission, vision, and core values of WISH.
• Prepare the van by taking inventory and stocking the van with all necessary materials, supplies, snacks, and beverages.
• Perform first aid duties, provide medical referrals, and/or accompany participants to hospital via taxi in response to critical incidents, as needed.
• Provide overdose prevention and response, and respond to critical incidents in order to maintain the safety of all staff and participants.
• Respond to critical incidents with a trauma-informed lens by implementing immediate crisis intervention techniques in attempt to deescalate participants from anxious or otherwise triggered emotional states; other emotional supports; and/or medical or legal referrals and accompaniments as needed.
• Provide emotional support to participants who have experienced a ‘bad date’ through active listening, debriefing, validating participants’ emotions, and assisting with filling out Bad Date Reports.
• Provide information and support on safety and violence prevention to participants to empower women to make safe and healthy choices for themselves.
• Assist participants in navigating police and other emergency services as needed and liaise as needed.
• Provide appropriate advocacy and support to the women by supplying information and referrals as needed.
• Monitor the MAP phone by retrieving and responding to phone calls and text messages from participants throughout the entirety of the shift.
• Communicate and coordinate with the rest of the team to respond to participants accordingly, including driving, and/or meeting with participants to provide services and supports.
• Ensure the van is driven in a safe and responsible manner that both abides by the rules of the road and does not interfere with sex workers’ ability to safely work or access services.
• Maintain the cleanliness of the van during the shift.
• Be present and aware of active sex work strolls by keeping track of all activities and trends that take place along strolls during shift.
• Complete accurate and consistent statistics, stroll logs, and participant logs. Communicate the need for any further participant supports, or follow-up with the MAP Manager.
• Ensure the van’s interior is cleaned and re-organized at the end of each shift and is parked in appropriate and legal spots.
• Track inventory of materials and supplies and convey requirements to the MAP Manager.
• Maintain healthy, constructive working relationships with coworkers through teamwork, communication, collaborative decision-making, and debriefing to ensure exceptional service and the safety of all team members and participants.
• Work as a team and follow protocols and procedures, independent of onsite supervision.
• Actively participate in staff meetings, work-related trainings, and communicate constructively with MAP Manager.
• Maintain updated knowledge of relevant DTES and broader Vancouver resources, services, and service providers, as well as current knowledge of sex work legislation and policy issues.
• Consult and liaise with community service agencies to maintain up-to-date information on available resources and maintain community relations.
• Other duties as required.
• Maintain positive relationships with community members and external organizations/ members

QUALIFICATIONS:

Education and Knowledge

• Certificate in a related human / social service field
• Possess an understanding of the needs and challenges of women involved in street-based sex work in Vancouver.
• Knowledge and understanding of Indigenous peoples and the legacy of colonization, the Residential school system, the 60’s Scoop, and lasting cyclical trauma.
• Knowledge of the Downtown Eastside and broader Vancouver community and its services as well as issues in Sex Work legislation and policy.
• Knowledge of useful resources for sex workers, particularly in the areas of housing, emergency medical care, detox and addictions services, and counseling.
• Knowledge and understanding of gender diversity and trans cultural safety.
• A class 5 BC driver’s license with a clean driving abstract

Training and Experience:

• 1 year working in front line social services in the Downtown Eastside or similar community.
• Or an equivalent combination of education, training, experience, and lived experience.
• Self-identified sex workers (current or former) are encouraged to apply. Lived experience is a core requirement for this position and is central to our community-led approach.

Additional Requirements:

• Maintain a commitment to providing a healthy and safe space for women (trans inclusive and gender diverse folks) in the street-based sex industry.
• Maintain healthy workplace boundaries and positive working relationships with participants, staff, and external contacts.
• Be able to safely carry up to 20lbs when required while transporting food, drinks, supplies, and/or donations.
• Possess a demonstrated ability to support sex workers compassionately and non-judgmentally while maintaining strong personal boundaries.
• Possess strong collaboration and empathetic communication skills.
• Ability to respond to emergencies and proven experience in crisis de-escalation techniques.
• Hard-worker, self-starter and able to work as part of a team.

• WISH is mandated to require a criminal record check. Records relating to sex work, substance use or poverty-related criminalized activity are not relevant to this position and will not be considered.