Housing Specialist

Overview

We are seeking a passionate individual with a strong understanding of and commitment to Mary’s Place mission of empowering women, children and families who are experiencing homelessness. Housing Specialists exhibit compassion and empathy as they work alongside families in Mary’s Place shelters to help them obtain permanent housing. Housing Specialists work independently as well as part of a team, and have excellent organizational, research, documentation and time management skills.

The Housing Specialist actively engages in Mary’s Place racial equity work – striving for racially equitable outcomes and taking responsibility for creating, maintaining and affirming communities for people of color, immigrants and refugees, trans and gender-non-conforming people, and other populations who routinely encounter systemic oppress ions.

This is full-time, non-exempt, position working a daytime schedule, with flexibility to work some evenings, weekends, and holidays as necessary.
Pay rate is $27-29/hour DOE.

The Housing Specialist reports to the Housing Manager. This position does not supervise any staff.

• Work individually with families to quickly set and meet housing goals, identify barriers to housing, and develop housing plans
• Complete vulnerability and housing assessments for families; complete screening reports
• Work in Agency (Mary’s Place database) to assess family housing options and create accurate documentation in a timely way (client meetings, goals, barriers)
• Proactively seek out new housing opportunities and resources to assist families with housing: internet-based housing searches, assist with applications to housing authorities
• Work to break down barriers to housing including connecting households to resources, obtaining documentation, address housing debt, etc.
• Help families navigate barriers related to immigration by connecting them to legal resources or aiding them with immigration paperwork
• Utilize appropriate procedures to work with guests to access flexible funding assistance
• Work in collaboration with all teams, including Family and Shelter Advocates, Housing Locators, Youth Services, Health Services, and Economic Advancement Coordinator to refer guests to appropriate internal resources
• Covering various shelters sites as needed
• Refer guest to other providers/services that Mary’s Place does not provide
• Gather and verify documents provided by properties/landlords to determine eligibility
• Conduct weekly meetings and check-ins with every assigned guest
• Attend staff meetings
• Other duties as assigned by supervisor

• Bachelor’s degree in social services or related field; or equivalent experience working in shelter, social services, or case management
• Experience working in a shelter setting or with homeless population strongly desired
• Experience conducting group trainings
• Basic knowledge of Housing First Principles
• Ability to work with clients who may have substance use disorders, untreated mental health, and significant trauma with a compassionate and trauma informed approach; basic understanding of Harm Reduction and Trauma Informed Care is strongly desired
• Familiarity with city and county services and resources that assist families experiencing homelessness is preferred
• Proven ability to form positive relationships with guests, vendors, volunteers, and donors
• Exceptional time management and organizational skills
• Proficiency with Microsoft Word and Outlook; able to learn new software/database systems quickly
• Ability to work both independently as well as in a collaborative, team-oriented organization
• Demonstrated creative problem solving, setting healthy professional boundaries, conflict mediation, and crisis management skills
• Demonstrated ability to understand and track funder requirements and ensure accurate and timely data collection/entry
• Highly motivated, resourceful, flexible, with a positive attitude and sense of humor, even under pressure
• Ability and willingness to work occasional evenings and weekends in response to guests’ needs
• Able to proficiently speak, read, write, and understand English. Proficiency in another language is preferred, especially Amharic, Tigrinya,…