Housing Specialist, Landing Family Shelter

Housing Specialist

CAMBA is a community of staff, volunteers, clients, donors, neighbors and partners who work together to build an inclusive New York City, where all children and adults have access to the resources and supports they need to thrive. We take a comprehensive approach by offering more than 180 integrated programs in:
Education & Youth Development, Family Support, Job Training & Employment Support Services, Health, Housing, and Legal Services. We reach more than 72,000 individuals and families each year at our 100 locations, including 10,000 youth. CAMBA serves a diverse cross section of New Yorkers from new mothers in Brownsville to job seekers in the Rockaways. More than half of our clients are immigrants and refugees from around the globe.

Over 85% of our families live in poverty, reflecting the challenges faced by nearly 1.7 million New Yorkers today.

CAMBA operates 6 single adult shelters and 6 family shelters and one drop in center. Each shelter offers clients a supportive, structured therapeutic, safe, and drug-free facility. Homeless (often mentally-ill and substance-abusing) men and women are provided with comprehensive services to stabilize their condition in order to successfully transition into to permanent and/or supported housing.

The Landing Family Shelter is funded by NYC Department of Homeless Services and offers families a supportive, structured therapeutic and safe facility. It provides comprehensive case management services to 169 families who are in a transitional residence program for displaced families.

The Housing Specialist reports to the Director of Social Services and is located at 94-00 Ditmars Blvd, Queens, NY 11369.

The Housing Specialist does the following:

• Establish and maintain professional relationships with clients' and client confidentiality in order to engage them in case management services.
• Develop curriculum to address shelter residents' Housing, Independent Living Skills and Entitlement related needs including, permanent housing search process and options.
• Develop a series of monthly Housing readiness workshops.
• Develop and maintain a Bulletin Board that serves to provide relevant Housing related information
• Provide individualized and group counseling on housing and entitlement related topics.
• Select appropriate instructional procedures or methods such as individual training, group instruction, self-study, lectures, demonstrations, simulation exercises, role play, and computer-based training.
• Conduct marketing and outreach presentations regarding the program to recruit clients and resources.
• In collaboration with the case manager(s), work with clients to break through barriers to client goals and to assist clients in advocating for themselves and in moving toward self-sufficiency.
• Monitor clients' progress toward their goals (i.e., dates achieved) via regularly scheduled telephone contact and/or face-to-face home and office visits, and document via progress notes.
• Create and maintain client files and make copies of all client documents.
• Assist case managers to schedule appointments for client with referral organizations.
• Assist case managers to escort clients to appointments (apartment viewings, public benefits, educational, medical, social service, etc.).
• Assist clients in completing applications for benefits and entitlements, and may process applications on clients' behalf.

Minimum Education /Experience

Required:

• High school diploma or G.E.D and two years of applicable experience and/or equivalent experience.

Other Requirements:

• Must obtain State Central Registry (SCR) clearance, The Register of Substantiated Category One Cases of Abuse or Neglect aka Staff Exclusion List (SEL) clearance and Criminal history information checks via fingerprinting with New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services prior to start of employment.
• Ability to maintain clearances throughout the duration of employment.
• Must obtain Annual PPD Test.
• Bi-lingual preferred

Compensation: $48,410. annually When salary ranges are listed, the range would represent the low and high end for the applicable position & program. The salary offered would be based on various factors unique to each program and candidate. This includes but is not limited to experience, education, budget and/or program size, internal equity, skills and other factors that may be required for the position and organization

Status:
Full-time (35 hours per week) Benefits: CAMBA offers a comprehensive benefits package including health insurance, dental insurance, 403(b) retirement plan with employer match, paid time off (vacation, personal, and sick time), and paid holidays.