Title: Peer -Harm Reduction Worker

Position Type: Part-Time, Contract (June 2025 to March 2026)

Hours: 20 hours/week Between Monday and Sunday, 11:00am to 4:30pm (availability required within this timeframe; exact schedule to be determined)

Location: 962 Bloor Street West & community-based outreach

Supervisor: Harm Reduction Coordinator

Compensation: $17.20/hour

Sistering is a multi-service agency which offers practical and emotional support to women and trans people facing a variety of challenging life circumstances, including poverty, homelessness, social isolation, mental health and trauma histories.

Our Vision

Sistering envisions a world where all women and trans people, in all our diversity, are valued; a world where we are safe and supported, treated with dignity, and given the respect we deserve. When opportunities are just and equitable, we can live life on our own terms.

Our Mission

Our goal is to create a safe, non-judgmental space for women and trans people who are socially isolated, poor, homeless or precariously housed. Guided by principles of Anti-Oppression and Anti-Racism, Sistering works to change the social conditions that endanger women and trans

Sistering’s programs include a low-barrier 24/7 Drop In, Housing and Case Support, Harm Reduction, Peer Outreach, On the Path to Employment and Spun Studio social enterprise, and individual and systemic advocacy.

How We Do It

Sistering operates on a trauma-informed and relationship-based model and our harm reduction philosophy is a core element of all the work we do: we are here to respond to participants’ needs, where they are at, in the moment, to support participants to learn how to reduce harm and/or increase safety. In addition, we recognize that their lives have meaning and value.

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Peer Harm Reduction Worker plays a vital role in Sistering’s enhanced harm reduction initiative funded by the City of Toronto. In response to the closure of nearby supervised consumption services, this initiative aims to reduce fatal overdoses and improve health outcomes for people who use drugs. As someone with lived/living experience of substance use, the Peer Worker will engage with community members in a non-judgmental, supportive manner to provide harm reduction education, outreach, and resources.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Program Delivery

• Engage with people who use drugs, including sex workers and unhoused individuals, in the Drop-In and through community outreach
• Provide peer-based harm reduction education and information on safer drug use and overdose prevention
• Prepare and distribute harm reduction kits (e.g., safer use kits, naloxone)
• Participate in and support harm reduction workshops and kit-making sessions
• Promote harm reduction programming and raise awareness among participants and the broader community
• Participate in overdose prevention and response efforts in and around the Drop-In
• Build positive and respectful relationships with participants based on shared experience and empathy

Administration

• Maintain accurate and confidential documentation, including outreach logs, kit distribution, and engagement records
• Submit timesheets and data collection forms on time
• Assist with organizing and maintaining the harm reduction supply room and outreach materials
• Collect used needles and stems when safe to do so and support proper disposal
• Participate in team meetings, supervision, and relevant training sessions

Other Duties as Assigned

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Personal lived or living experience with substance use, mental health, and/or homelessness
• Understanding and commitment to harm reduction principles and non-judgmental peer support
• Familiarity with the challenges faced by individuals accessing harm reduction or health services
• Ability to set and maintain healthy boundaries with participants
• Comfortable working in high-stress or street-based environments
• Responsible, punctual, and reliable
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Experience responding to overdoses and/or training in naloxone administration (asset)
• Experience with group facilitation or peer-led workshops
• Knowledge of the local harm reduction and community health service landscape
• Basic computer skills, including Word and Excel

WORKING CONDITIONS:

This position works in the office and community. Sistering is a 24/7 operation, fast paced, intense environment. There may be the risk of exposure to potentially unpredictable behaviours and situations. Sistering is a pet friendly facility and as such, employees can expect to be in the proximity of animals.

Sistering is an Equal Opportunity Employer; we welcome and encourage applications from black, racialized persons/visible minorities, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities, and persons of minority sexual orientations and gender identities. Those who require special accommodation through the interview process will be provided with the appropriate support.

This role is an open vacancy, and we encourage all qualified candidates to apply. Applicants will be informed of the outcome following an interview as per Ontario employment regulations.