Meet Lukas and Tara, Social Workers with the HOCS Team

Lukas and Tara are Clinical Coordinators with the Health, Outreach, and Community Support (HOCS) team based out of Access Downtown. HOCS is a specialized, mobile team that provides outreach, consultation, and services to help people without housing access health and social supports. HOCS connects with staff and individuals in shelters, community sites, and homes, aiming to integrate health services with housing supports.

Lukas (they/he) is a trans, queer social worker with more than 25 years experience who grounds their work in their lived experience. He has worked in HIV services, Housing First and most recently as a Clinical Coordinator at WRHA- Health Outreach Community Support. They focus on bringing criticality to their practice to uproot white supremacy, cisheteropatriarchy, and anti-drug use bias in community work.

Tara (she/her) is a Red River Métis social worker whose practice is grounded in critical theories focusing on disrupting white supremacy and colonial systems. The outcomes of these systems are highlighted within the context of houselessness, substance use, and mental health. Drawing on her own experiences with substance use and centering Indigenous knowledges that are rooted within relationality, Tara strives to reduce the harms that many folks experience when accessing health and social service systems.

Lukas and Tara work primarily with Housing First and support teams in community and help them connect resources to community members. They also work directly with community members themselves, developing relationships and providing a bridge for health resources.

They also conduct training with community organizations on Staying Hopeful and Doing Good Work, Housing First Case Management, and HIV Basics for Housing First Workers.

Видео Meet Lukas and Tara, Social Workers with the HOCS Team канала Winnipeg Regional Health Authority