Solutions Specialist II; Closes

Housing Solutions Specialist II

This position sits in the Office of Community Services within the Allegheny County Department of Human Services as part of the Housing Solutions Team. The goals of the Housing Solutions Specialist II position include supporting individuals successfully transitioning out of emergency shelters, providing technical assistance to internal DHS housing focused teams, and collaborating with community partners to increase access to affordable housing opportunities for individuals experiencing homelessness in the emergency shelter system.

To meet these goals, the Housing Solutions Specialist II position will work directly with individuals to establish connections with housing opportunities. They will provide guidance and collaboration with other members of housing focused teams y will do this to design housing pathways for those experiencing homelessness using experiential knowledge as well as best practices. They will work across the array of CoC providers to develop processes to improve outcomes of new initiatives.

The position will serve as a liaison between participating landlords, property managers, participants, and housing program staff.

The Housing Solutions Specialist II position will maintain an expanding database of available and accessible housing opportunities as well as the requirements to determine eligibility for interested individuals. The role will ensure eligible households are prepared and equipped to transition successfully into permanent, affordable, and stable housing by completing needed referrals, connecting to available resources, and providing access to needed tangible household goods.

The population of households the Housing Specialist II will provide direct assistance to are individuals utilizing emergency shelter, experiencing unsheltered homelessness, and/or residing in unhabitable or untenable situations. There is a focus on individuals who are not eligible, not likely to receive, or not in need of longer-term housing (Rapid Rehousing/Permanent Supportive Housing) services within the homeless system. The types of assistance include but are not limited to assisting in becoming document ready, housing search, housing applications, connection to potential resources for income, employment, & health insurance, and linkage to resources related to their housing crisis and other available social services.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Provides individuals with direct assistance to help resolve housing crises.
• Provides a preliminary eligibility screening for publicly and privately funded programs.
• Serves as an expert on the different types of housing available, the requirements for each, the process for applying, and recommended resources for listings.
• Assists households with completing paperwork and becoming 'document ready' for housing.
• Acts as a resource for reviewing leases and explaining tenant rights and responsibilities.
• Completes assessments, as appropriate, for homeless housing services & supports relating to homeless services.
• When needed, advocates on the household's behalf and when appropriate, assists the household to empower itself to advocate on its behalf.
• Supports individuals as they transition into housing by providing needed resources and tangible goods.
• Maintains available housing database with eligibility requirements.
• Maintains waiting list of eligible individuals for housing opportunities.
• Coordinates the housing process between landlords, participants, and homeless program staff.
• Connects individuals experiencing homeless to housing opportunities through community partners and internal DHS teams.
• Provides case management support and guidance to other members of housing focused teams within DHS
• Engages individuals in a way in which they are comfortable.
• Embraces a "do whatever it takes" attitude.
• Responsible for tracking supports provided.
• Participates in team meetings, trainings, and other related events as a resource specialist representing DHS.
• Identify and communicate opportunities to improve processes and services, including need trends and gaps in service for continuous improvement.
• Assists the Housing Solutions Team Supervisor with tasks as needed.

Supervisory Responsibilities

This job has no supervisory responsibilities.

Additional Responsibilities

From time to time, the employee will be required to perform additional tasks and duties as required by the employer.

Knowledge,

Skills and Abilities

• Strong knowledge of local, state and federal housing resources and how to access them
• Knowledge of local resources to help stabilize housing situations, such as mediation, utility, and rental assistance programs
• Knowledge of the county's homeless system
• Experience conducting searches for affordable housing
• Knowledge of tenants' rights and responsibilities
• Strong interpersonal and relationship building skills in a direct service environment
• Excellent communication skills both written and verbal
• Ability to build partnerships and engage in positive collaboration with a…