Gender Addictions Counselor

Who We Are

Founded in 1889,
YWCA Hamilton is known as one of Hamilton’s original social innovators and works from a feminist, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive framework. We are dedicated to strengthening women’s and girl’s voices, broadening their choices, building dynamic leadership and providing essential services that promote safe, inclusive and equitable communities.

At YWCA Hamilton
, we are intentional about fostering a workplace culture that values positive physical and emotional well‑being through our values of Intersectional Feminism, People Centred, Belonging, Responsibility, and Partnerships. We invest in our employees so that we can bring our values into the communities in which we live. We offer our employees:

• On‑job training and professional development opportunities
• Childcare discounts
• Opportunities to get involved in our community
• A competitive total rewards package

If you’re passionate about making a positive impact in the lives of women, children, and families every day, we would love for you to join our team!

Job Code: 9-ETF-2025

Department:
Housing and Gender Based Violence Support Services

Reports to:

Health Equity Clinical Lead

Location:

Hamilton, ON

Hours of Work: 15-29 hours per week

Schedule:

days, evenings, nights and weekends

Contract

Start Date:

TBD

Contract End Date:
March 31 2026

Posting Date:
December 2 2025

The philosophy of this program is to work collaboratively in client-directed ways to reduce substance use related harms and enhance well-being for women and gender-diverse people who use substances.

The Addictions Counselor, focused on gender and substance use, will design and deliver gender responsive therapeutic services to women accessing the Housing Programs through YWCA Hamilton. This will include individual counselling and psychoeducation/therapeutic group programming that address the intersection of substance use and gender-based violence/trauma, mental health, pregnancy and parenting, health equity and issues of housing and homelessness. The Addictions Counsellor will also provide gender-specific harm reduction supports that aim to improve the quality of life and health of clients.

The ideal candidate will understand the gendered impacts and consequences of substance use and view a continuum of care for women and gender diverse people who use drugs, as inclusive of harm reduction and recovery orientated approaches.

• Work collaboratively to build internal processes for client intake, assessment and data collection.
• Provide one-to-one therapeutic counselling to women and gender-diverse people who use drugs from a trauma-informed perspective.
• Develop and implement flexible low-barrier gender-specific therapeutic group interventions tailored to the unique needs of women and gender diverse people who use drugs.
• Work collaboratively with staff and leadership from across the YWCA Hamilton to identify substance use related risks, develop wrap-around care plans and enhance safety for women and gender diverse people who use drugs.
• Support women and gender-diverse people in making and mobilizing plans towards recovery, including accessing withdrawal management services, residential treatment services, culturally relevant recovery supports.
• Develop and deliver therapeutic services intentionally designed for pregnant and parenting women and gender diverse people who are impacted by substance use.
• Provide referrals and develop into programs, supports and services that enhance wellness and recovery.
• Keep records on day-to-day happenings, enter client information/daily events into an electronic data information system for reports and statistics.
• Apply knowledge of trauma and the dynamics of gender-based violence to develop and implement effective support strategies including safety plans.
• Work within general rules, procedures and standards, referring issues or problems to supervisor.
• Ability to work with interpreters.
• Maintain high level of confidentiality when working with sensitive and personal client, employee and contract information.
• Represent the YWCA Hamilton and always maintain outstanding public relations skills and a professional image…