Outreach Housing Specialist

Outreach Housing Specialist

The Outreach Housing Specialist plays a crucial role in St. John Center's mission to end homelessness. By connecting individuals and families to stable housing, this position ensures that those experiencing homelessness can overcome barriers and transition into permanent housing with dignity and support. In collaboration with other members of the Outreach Team, the Outreach Housing Specialist will focus on assisting clients' transition into housing by helping them identify income-aligned housing, obtain housing vouchers, and navigate the housing process.

In this role, the Outreach Housing Specialist will also work to build and sustain relationships with landlords and property owners. The Outreach Team works within a harm reduction and person-centered model. All duties are performed with a multidisciplinary and multi-agency team approach. This role is pivotal in addressing homelessness by connecting clients to stable housing opportunities.

Benefits:
Paid Time Off (PTO) Vacation, Sick and Holidays Medical, Dental, Vision, Basic Life/AD&D, STD, Continuing Education & Flexible Schedule, and IRA match (up to 3%)

Primary Responsibilities

The housing specialist will:

• Conduct outreach to engage individuals experiencing homelessness and assess their barriers to housing; offer a spectrum of assistance to clients to address their barriers to housing.
• Serve as the housing expert of the Outreach Team and remain abreast of new housing opportunities for clients;
• Host housing groups Outreach clients and individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness at least bi-weekly.
• Make referrals and complete necessary follow-up to both internal programs and external community partners;
• Advocate for clients throughout the rental application process and provide direct assistance with filling out forms, working with supportive organizations, obtaining necessary documentation, aiding in the apartment search, and completing the move-in process;
• Accompany clients as they view apartments and meet with landlords and community partners;
• Provide crisis intervention as necessary and provide harm reduction services;
• Serve as a member of the Outreach Team to assist clients with a myriad of self-sufficiency services, including intake assessments, referrals, and housing counseling.

Additional responsibilities include:

• Utilizing basic skills to build rapport with clients and offering insights to the team regarding best practices, especially as it relates to promoting a low barrier, housing first approach.
• Functioning as a member of the Outreach team, contributing to daily needs, providing basic services to all day Outreach clients, facilitating group life skills instruction and conducting intake assessments with new clients.
• Employing components of de-escalation on a daily basis.
• Completing necessary record-keeping in the Salesforce and Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) databases and complete other documentation as required by agency and specific situations.
• Addressing issues, problems, or questions of policy or procedure that may arise, defusing tensions, communicating a shift or incident summary to immediate supervisor and to other staff members as needed.
• Complete and submit time sheets and mileage logs in a timely manner, and in accordance with internal practices.

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to travel throughout Metro Louisville to aid in apartment searches, meet with landlords or partner service providers and/or perform home visits, which may require ascending/descending full flight of steps, moving around in tight spaces, and other physical movement. Non-local travel is not required.
• Ability to engage in standing or sitting for long periods of time, bending, light lifting, walking, or climbing stairs
• This position is full time, Monday – Friday, typically 7:45 AM – 4:00 PM (including a daily one-hour lunch break). This position requires occasional weekend and holiday hours.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Associate's Degree (extensive experience can substitute for education)
• Basic computer literacy including word processing and Google suite
• Effective communication skills
• Must have personal automobile, valid driver's license, proof of auto insurance, and be willing to transport co-workers and/or clients

Preferred Qualifications:

Ability and willingness to safely and effectively de-escalate situations, including conducting physical interventions when necessary to maintain safety as directed by agency

3 years of experience in working with the…