Housing Navigator Albany Project Hope

Company Overview

For more than 50 years, Insight Housing has provided a comprehensive range of housing, food, and support services to help those in need move from homelessness into a safe and affordable home of their own. We serve in seven counties in the bay area - Alameda, San Francisco, Contra Costa, Solano, Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Amador County. We are proud of our team members who are very dedicated to our mission of ensuring everyone in our community has a home through supportive, equitable, and sustainable housing solutions.

Albany Project Hope
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Since July 2013, Insight Housing has provided street outreach and housing navigation to residents of the City of Albany experiencing homelessness. Outreach is the core of the program: staff conduct daily field-based outreach routes throughout Albany to engage unsheltered residents, complete Coordinated Entry System (CES) assessments, and connect people to housing and services. The program also operates one 4-bedroom master-leased transitional home providing shelter for up to four households through December 2026;

the home is scheduled to close January 1, 2027, after which the program transitions to full-time street outreach and housing navigation. Services are delivered using Housing First, Harm Reduction, Trauma-Informed Care, and Progressive Engagement models. Insight Housing serves as a key CES access point for the City of Albany and works in close partnership with Albany CARES, the Albany Police Department, and regional homeless service providers.

Under the supervision of the Program Manager, the Housing Navigator is responsible for street outreach, engagement, housing navigation, and case management for Albany residents experiencing homelessness. This is a field-based position: the majority of the workday is spent outdoors on assigned outreach routes, engaging unsheltered residents where they are rather than working from an office. The Housing Navigator builds trusting relationships through consistent, persistent engagement, completes CES assessments, develops housing stability plans, and supports participants through housing search, placement, and retention.

Through January 2027, the Housing Navigator also provides case management to residents of the program’s emergency shelter house and supports their transition to permanent housing prior to the home’s closure.

• Conduct daily, field-based street outreach along assigned routes throughout the City of Albany — including the community center, the senior center, the areas around the Safeway and Target stores, Albany Hill, the shower program at the Albany Aquatic Center, Solano and San Pablo Avenues, and the Ohlone Greenway — and other locations where people experiencing homelessness congregate.
• Build and sustain trusting relationships with unsheltered residents through consistent, persistent engagement, using Housing First, Harm Reduction, Trauma-Informed Care, and Progressive Engagement approaches.
• Distribute outreach and basic needs supplies, including hygiene items, weather-appropriate clothing, water, and snacks.
• Respond to outreach referrals and crisis requests from City of Albany staff, Albany CARES, the Albany Police Department, and community partners.
• Assist participants in meeting basic needs for food, shelter, medical and mental health care, identification documents, and benefits enrollment.
• Complete Coordinated Entry System (CES) assessments for all consenting participants engaged through outreach.
• Develop and update individual housing stability plans at least every 90 days for all engaged program participants.
• Monitor CES prioritization lists, advocate for timely permanent housing matches, and attend…