Housing Placement and Stabilization Specialist

Description

SCHEDULE: 40 hours; Monday – Friday 8:00am-4:30pm with availability for early mornings, evenings

Pays $23.48 per hour DOE

SUMMARY OF THE POSITION:

The Housing Placement and Stabilization Specialist will work within the Outreach Department portfolio to provide housing navigation support to unsheltered homeless guests, working alongside the Outreach Specialists, Clinicians, and the overall Outreach department. This targeted housing placement and stabilization work will have a “Housing First” approach and will focus on assisting program participants to move into and sustain permanent housing and include, and not be limited to, organizing document collection, enrolling clients in mainstream benefits, filling out housing applications, accompanying guests to unit showings and lease signings, and providing referrals to community based services. The Housing Placement and Stabilization Specialist will provide office and community-based stabilization services once the individual is placed into housing as outlined by specific benchmarks set by funders and industry best practices. Extreme weather conditions may dictate that the HPSS is on the streets completing outreach work. This position is considered an essential employee for the PSI.

Housing Placement and Stabilization Specialist will work from the following principles:

• Shelter is a temporary safety net, not a home
• All people experiencing homelessness, regardless of their housing history and duration of homelessness, can achieve housing stability in permanent housing
• Everyone is “housing ready.”  Sobriety, compliance in treatment, or even a clean criminal history is not necessary to succeed in housing. Rather, homelessness programs and housing providers must be “consumer ready”
• Leverage guests’ their strengths, assets, and connections to move quickly out of shelters and to any other housing
• Recognize the impact of violence and victimization on development and coping strategies
• Employ an empowerment model
• Maximize guest choices and control over her/his recovery based in a relational collaboration
• Create an atmosphere that is respectful of the guests’ need for safety, respect, and acceptance
• Emphasize the guests’ strengths, highlighting adaptations over symptoms and resilience over pathology
• Minimize the possibilities of re-traumatization
• Strive to be culturally competent and to understand each person in the context of his or her life experiences and cultural background
• Solicit guest input and involve guests in designing and evaluating services

Requirements

EDUCATION/TRAINING:

REQUIRED: 

• BSW, BA or BS in a human service related field [can be substituted for High School Diploma and at least three (3) years of equivalent experience in a social service setting]
• Valid Massachusetts Driver’s License 

PREFERRED: 

• Bilingual – Spanish/English
• Certification, training, or formal education in counseling and/or case management

KNOWLEDGE/EXPERIENCE:

REQUIRED: 

• A minimum of two (2) years of experience delivering services to a challenged population often struggling with addiction and untreated or under-treated mental health concerns
• Strong computer and math skills - including familiarity with MS Word and Excel Experience 
• Practical experience in working collaboratively with homeless individuals creating housing plans and individual service plans
• Experience with helping individuals with budgeting
• Experience accessing housing opportunities and subsidy programs for homeless individuals
• Knowledge of the issues related to homelessness and housing
• Experience navigating systems of housing and care for homeless individuals
• Knowledge and experience utilizing Motivational Interviewing, Trauma-Informed Care, Harm Reduction, Housing First model.