Position: Housing Specialist, CWSP
Location: Cold Weather Shelter Programs, Mountain View, CA
Reports to: Program Manager
Status: Temporary, Temporary, Full Time, Non-Exempt (20 hours/Week)
Compensation: $30.96 Hourly
This is a temporary, part time role with employment terms from November 25th, 2024, thru April 16th, 2025.
THE ORGANIZATION:
HomeFirst™ is a leading provider of housing services: prevention, outreach, shelter, interim, and permanent housing programming for individuals who are housing insecure or unhoused in the Bay Area of California. We serve more than 5,000 adults, Veterans, families, and youth each year through a continuum of care, which meets people where they are and works to support a housing plan specific to each individual.
HomeFirst has approximately 500 staff working across two Bay Area counties including Sonoma and Santa Clara County. HomeFirst operates more than 15 locations, including The James F. Boccardo Regional Reception Center (BRC), Family Living Centers, Labath Landing Interim Housing, and more. Our core elements include, but are not limited to:
- Prevention
- Street-based Services
- Emergency Housing
- Permanent Housing Interventions
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- Supportive Services
- Affordable Housing
- Systems Leadership
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HomeFirst is committed to a culture of demonstrating our core values.
Activism | Creativity | Excellence | Passion| Respect | Responsibility | Teamwork
ROLE SUMMARY:
The Housing Specialist meets with our program participants and assists them in locating, securing, and maintaining permanent housing in the community. They play a key role in representing agency and program participant interests to landlords and developing strong working relationships with property managers and owners. To this end, the Housing Specialist participates in our collective effort to end and prevent homelessness.
QUALITIES:
The Housing Specialist is passionate about serving others and sees themself in a helping profession long-term. They have a knack for winning people over through their strong persuasive abilities and balance their natural creativity with nuts and bolts of problem-solving. They manage their time well and demonstrate strong organizational abilities. With the support of program leadership, the Housing Specialist participates in our culture of learning and increases their knowledge of evidence-based practices over the course of their employment. Together, we model the values and principles of HomeFirst within the agency and the broader community.
HomeFirst is a diverse company in a diverse field, and the Housing Specialist seeks to work with people from a variety of social and economic backgrounds. They are a highly collaborative member of our participant team and enjoy a team-oriented work environment.
DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Maintain a caseload of 20-30 participants in an active housing search.
- Provide comprehensive Housing Specialist . This may include:
- Landlord outreach and support
- Housing search
- Application assistance
- Advocacy
- Housing mediation
- Financial assistance administration
- Crisis de-escalation
- Risk assessment and mandated reporting
- Connection to community resources, i.e., eviction prevention
- Other direct service provision
- Meet with participants at a frequency and location determined by their needs.
- Engage in the consistent application of evidence-based practices.
- Support internal case management and program support specialist activities as needed. This may include:
- Street-based or community outreach efforts
- Conducting joint participant meetings
- Workshop coordination
- Participate in case conferencing and collaborative care coordination.
- Maintain compliance with contract, agency, and licensing requirements.
- Achieve identified program and position deliverables.
- Adhere to task completion deadlines.
- Maintain thorough and accurate documentation of participant in accordance with agency and contractual standards.
- Attend all job-related meetings, including program staff meetings and agency-wide meetings.
- Participate in opportunities for learning and skill maintenance/development.
- Utilize supervision appropriately, maintain open lines of communication, and provide updates on activity.
- Assist with other duties as assigned.
Benefits of joining the HomeFirst Team:
Professional growth opportunities within the organization
100% medical coverage for employees with an opportunity to add dependents for a shared cost
401k match up to 5%
12 observed holidays
PTO accrual begins with 120 hours annually and increases with tenure
4 hours of Community Engagement PTO provided annually
Access to our Emergency Assistance Program (EAP)
Pet insurance options available
HomeFirst is proud to be an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, veteran status, or any other status protected by law. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local law. Additionally, HomeFirst participates in the E-Verify program, as required by law.
HomeFirst is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application process. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please let your recruiter know.
HomeFirst mandates that all employees be vaccinated or render a religious or medical exemption effective September 13, 2021.
