Shelter Advocate - Standby

CAREER OPPORTUNITY

Agate is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to end homelessness and relieve hunger through action and advocacy. We provide emergency services, shelter, and housing programs for individuals and families. We encourage applicants with lived experience to apply (anyone who has not received services from Agate within the last two years is welcome to apply). We believe that housing is a basic human right.

• Integrity: Always doing what's right, even when it's not easy or popular.
• Equity: Challenging unfair systems and making changes that better support those most affected by homelessness and hunger.
• Humanity: Recognizing how these issues affect everyone, building trust, and forming strong relationships by understanding people's needs.
• Creativity: Finding new and original ways to meet the community's needs.

The Outreach and Shelter Department serves single adults through our emergency response programs. Our programs include Shelter, Street Outreach, and the Welcome Center. Through these programs, we often encounter individuals along the broad spectrum of homelessness from recently homeless to chronically homeless individuals. The goal in each of these programs is to build rapport and assist in connecting individuals to stabilize their housing and achieving self-sufficiency.

The Shelter Advocate is a member of a team responsible for daily operations at either of Agate's two housing-focused shelter program sites. One shelter is in downtown Minneapolis and primarily serves single adults experiencing homelessness, with a focus on partnered adults of all genders. The other shelter is an innovative new building in the Longfellow neighborhood of Minneapolis that serves single adults based on community needs.

The Shelter Advocate works closely with other employees in a team atmosphere to ensure consistent, affirming, safe operation of the shelter for all guests and volunteers. Primary responsibilities include answering phones, letting clients in and out, performing intakes for shelter guests, monitoring guest behavior, cleaning, laundry, meal preparation, meal service, administrative work, documentation, and data entry. As part of our housing-focused program, the Shelter Advocate also provides core services to shelter guests, including offering information, making referrals, and assisting with paperwork or services navigation.

Additional responsibilities include regularly attending staff meetings, keeping rosters updated using HMIS, and representing Agate's shelters at community meetings and trainings.

This is a very active position that requires employees to complete physical tasks throughout the shift and remain awake at all times. This position is on standby 2-3 nights per week. They will punch in on their phone at 9:15 pm and remain punched in until 10:45 pm. If a staff member calls off or does not show up, the standby is required to come into one of the shelters and work until either 7:30 am or 8:30 am.

If the standby worker does not come in for a shift, they are on standby for it will result in termination. Standby employees should not accept shifts that they are unable to come in to work for the full overnight shift. The status for this position is on-call but could become part-time or full-time depending on the number of shifts picked up per week.

• General Responsibilities & Safety
• Ensure the shelter operates safely for all guests, staff, and volunteers.
• Build and maintain professional rapport with guests.
• Enforce shelter policy in a consistent, fair manner with a positive and respectful demeanor.
• Answer and direct calls to the shelter and monitor entrances to allow guests to access the shelter.
• Make regular rounds inside the shelter to ensure guest safety and maintain a calm and peaceful atmosphere for sleeping guests; call emergency services when appropriate and manage guest behavior throughout the shift.
• Use de-escalation and crisis response skills to address behavior issues or conflicts, always maintaining professional boundaries.
• Monitor and review security camera footage throughout the shift; document and report incidents…