Youth Outreach Case Manager

Description

Join The Night Ministry as an Outreach Case Manager – Youth Outreach Team

Build relationships, offer stability, and support young people navigating homelessness.

Provide outreach, engagement, and ongoing support to youth and young adults served by The Crib and the Youth Outreach Team. Deliver strengths-based case management and referrals to supportive services as needed. Develop, maintain, and strengthen collaborative referral relationships with community-based and social service agencies to support positive youth outcomes.

Assist youth and young adults ages 14–24 experiencing or at risk of homelessness by providing outreach, relationship-based engagement, and case management to promote safety, housing stability, and self-sufficiency. The Outreach Case Manager represents The Night Ministry professionally and collaborates with internal teams and external partners to engage and support youth with high needs.

• Meet all applicable government, agency, and grantor requirements for the position.
• Demonstrate the ability and willingness to work both independently and collaboratively as part of a team.
• Work closely and cooperatively with Youth Programs staff, other Night Ministry staff, volunteers, interns, and collaborating agencies and organizations.
• Demonstrate trauma-informed, LGBTQIA+-affirming, and street culture–competent practices, with the ability to work effectively with diverse populations and adopt a harm reduction approach in service delivery.
• Be detail-oriented and self-directed, with strong interpersonal skills and a clear understanding of professional boundaries.
• Respond calmly, appropriately, and in accordance with The Night Ministry’s policies and procedures during emergencies or crisis situations.

• Establish and maintain a consistent, visible presence with youth through outreach and relationship-based engagement and case management. Outreach activities may include street outreach, collaboration with and presence at partner organizations, school-based outreach, social media engagement, and other methods of identifying and engaging youth experiencing homelessness or housing instability.
• Develop, implement, and refine new outreach strategies, venues, and engagement methods in response to community and youth needs.
• Assess safety concerns and provide crisis intervention, de-escalation, and safety planning for program participants; make appropriate referrals and linkages for additional interventions as needed.
• Participate in periodic community and individual needs assessments, including identifying youth strengths and service gaps; distribute supplies and provide referrals to supportive services as appropriate.
• Build and sustain relationships with youth by working at The Crib during evening and early-morning hours and accompanying the Youth Outreach Team during daytime and/or nighttime outreach shifts, including van-based and foot outreach.
• Conduct intake with youth interested in The Night Ministry’s programs; assess eligibility, provide program information, and coordinate referrals while collaborating with program staff to ensure smooth transitions into services.
• Develop and maintain strong referral relationships with community resources in Lakeview, Bucktown, and other neighborhoods frequented by program participants, including but not limited to spiritual care, emergency and transitional housing, healthcare, mental health services, and substance use treatment providers.

• Provide ongoing, strengths-based case management services by assisting program participants with follow-up on referrals and meeting with youth at The Crib, drop-in centers, and in community settings.
• Develop, implement, and regularly review individualized case plans; monitor progress toward goals and adjust plans as needed. Case plans must be culturally responsive and tailored to each participant’s age, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, and cultural background.
• Maintain accurate and complete case files for assigned caseloads in accordance with governmental, grant, and…