Job Title: Youth Cultural Support Worker
Location: London, Ontario
Employment Term: Permanent; Full-Time
Salary: $25.00 to $32.00 per hour
No. of Positions: 1
Closing Date: Friday February 13th

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

Role and Responsibility

Using an Indigenous-led approach to principles of Harm Reduction and trauma-informed care, the Youth Cultural Support Worker will support Indigenous youth (16-24 years) experiencing or at risk of homelessness with wholistic diversion supports, including Indigenous cultural interventions, alongside intensive housing-focused case management. The Youth Cultural Support worker will mobilize program service delivery through a cultural framework that will help foster safety and housing stability for Indigenous youth who are living outside/unsheltered or who are experiencing any form of housing crisis. The Youth Cultural Support worker will work both within Giwetashkad’s residential programs (Wiigiwaaminaan and Yakhiya’take’nhas) and with Giwetashkad’s Housing Outreach Team to lend specialized cultural and housing supports to Indigenous youth experiencing any form of housing instability. Responsibilities will also include supporting the Youth Drop-In programming with cultural and community-building activities on
Tuesday evenings (and, on occasion, working flexible hours to support additional youth programming).

The Youth Cultural Support Worker will work as a dynamic team member, assisting and engaging with the larger homelessness programs offered at Atlohsa Family Healing Services (such as attending and engaging in scheduled internal and external case management meetings and contributing to required documentation and log notes). The Youth Cultural Support Worker must have excellent communication and collaboration skills. The Youth Cultural Support Worker must also have a strong connection to their own Indigenous identity, and/or a strong connection to an Indigenous community.

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.