Location: London, Ontario
Closing Date: December 12, 2025
Employment Term: Full-time; permanent
Number of Positions: 1
Salary: $25.00 to $32.00 per hour

About Atlohsa
Atlohsa Family Healing Services is an Indigenous led non-profit organization in Southwestern Ontario dedicated to empowering Indigenous communities through traditional and land-based healing practices. Since 1986, we have provided low-barrier, wraparound services to individuals and families facing complex challenges such as mental wellness, substance use, homelessness, and domestic violence. Our holistic wellness approach is rooted in the Seven Sacred Grandfather Teachings and the Medicine Wheel Teachings, utilizing a Two-Eyed Seeing approach that emphasizes collaboration, mutual respect, and the recognition that both Indigenous and Western knowledge systems contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the world.

About the Program
“Giwetashkad” is an Anishnaabemowin (Ojibwe language) word and concept that can roughly be translated to “circle” or as an action of moving in a circular fashion or as “coming back around”. As the root word “giiwe” means “home,” and is also the root of the word “giiwedinong” or the Northern direction – where the spirits go home – “Giwetashkad” is a term that evokes movement through the cycles of life, rebirth, and renewal.

Initiated in 2017, the Giwetashkad division represents a comprehensive Indigenous homelessness strategy to address the alarming rates of homelessness among Indigenous peoples in London. This initiative is rooted in local knowledge and history, promoting themes of home, rebirth, and renewal. Over the years, Giwetashkad has transformed into a suite of Indigenous-led programs and services that utilize cultural knowledge to combat the ongoing impacts of colonization and support truth and reconciliation efforts. Ultimately, Giwetashkad serves as a foundational model for the ongoing efforts to “bring people home” and alleviate Indigenous homelessness by reconnecting individuals to their cultural and spiritual identities.

About the Role
Atlohsa Family Healing Services is seeking a motivated and dynamic individual to fill the role of Housing Relations Specialist. The main priority of the Housing Relations Specialist is to support Indigenous community members to integrate back into the community through an Indigenous-led housing and healing based approach. The Housing Relations Specialist will work closely with Giwetashkad staff through an Indigenous cultural framework that will support community members to achieve and maintain permanent housing by implementing an Indigenous Housing First approach in alignment with the Giwetashkad Indigenous Homelessness Plan.

Using a wholistic Indigenous-led approach to principles of Harm Reduction and Housing First, the successful applicant will liaison with Giwetashkad Housing Stability Workers to offer compassionate and assertive care and support to community members who may be experiencing homelessness, social stigma, problematic mental health, trauma and substance use. The primary role of the Housing Relations Specialist will be to build and preserve relationships with landlords/housing owners through the London region. The Housing Relations Specialist will maintain a housing owner portfolio, creating access to attainable private housing stock for low-income Indigenous community members who are experiencing or are at risk of experiencing homelessness. The Housing Relations Specialist will work on creating ways to educate housing owners and property managers on how to successfully participate in solving homelessness in our communities. The Housing Relations Specialist will provide support to housing owners and property managers by working on site of housing units performing move in/move out inspections, keeping up on all unit repair concerns and being an assertive liaison advocate between housing owners and program participants. Advocacy and mediation through Landlord Tenant Board hearings will be an essential part of the role. The Housing Relations Specialist must be able to provide clear, concise objective communication including recording statistical data in order to inform program objectives. The Housing Relations Specialist will communicate with other agencies, maintain confidentiality of all participants and documents of Atlohsa Family Healing Services. The Housing Relations Specialist will work to ensure that Atlohsa Family Healing Services is a safe space for all community members accessing services and programming by referring community members to more appropriate locations if the need shall arise.

Why Work for Atlohsa?

We offer competitive pay and benefits:

• $25.00 to $32.00 per hour
• 100% employer provided benefits
• Employer-Employee contributory Pension plan

We are committed to ensuring YOUR work-life balance and offer extensive paid time off:

• Three (3) weeks vacation, accessible in your first year of employment and increased entitlement based on years of service.
• Up to 12 paid sick days per year.
• Up to 12 paid self-development days per year
• We recognize 14 statutory holidays every year.

We have a strong commitment to our cultural teachings and traditional knowledge practices, which encompass not just our programs but our daily interactions in the workplace, including:

• Regular opportunities for staff to engage in ceremonies and cultural gatherings.
• Access for staff to connect with Elders and Knowledge Keepers to foster active participation in cultural traditions.

We strive to inspire, empower, and instill a profound sense of pride and belonging within the community while promoting Mino Bimaadiziwin, The Good Way of Life.