Housing Placement and Stabilization Specialist, Outreach

Description

SCHEDULE:  40 hours, Monday– Friday 8:00am – 4:30pm

Pays $23.48 per hour DOE  

LOCATION: 105 Chauncy Street. Boston, MA 02111

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:

• Associate’s Degree in a human services related field can be substituted for High School Diploma and three (3) years of equivalent experience in a social service setting.

PREFERRED:

• Undergraduate degree, certification, training, or formal education in counseling and case management
• Bilingual
• Training in Trauma Informed Care, Progressive Engagement, and Motivational Interviewing
• Valid Driving license in good standing preferred

KNOWLEDGE/EXPERIENCE:

• Minimum of six (6) months of experience working with homeless or similar population, providing direct care and/or active case management and referral services to homeless individuals or similar population
• Strong written communication and documentation skills
• Computer proficiency in Microsoft Office Products, including Excel and Outlook
• Knowledge of the issues related to homelessness, particularly around housing, substance use, mental illness and economic factors as precipitants to homelessness
• A working knowledge of homeless referral networks
• Knowledge and belief in “Housing First” philosophy and strategies
• Basic math skills and budgeting experience

PREFERRED:

• One (1) year experience working with homeless population, providing direct care
• Extensive experience with case management, housing placement, and landlord engagement
• Experience with Clarity, or similar HMIS system
• Knowledge of tenant rights, and responsibilities as well as “Strengths based” Case Management
• Experience with case conferencing with challenging presentations