Advocate

• Base Pay $29.34 - $32.56 / Hour
• Job Category Education & Community Services, Regular, 40 hours per week, 12 months per year
• Employee Type FT Non-Exempt

At Neighborhood House (NH), our vision is a healthy, diverse, and welcoming community, free of poverty and racism, where all people thrive. We serve over 16,000 individuals in Seattle/South King County in the areas of early learning, youth development, citizenship, employment, health, housing, resource navigation, and aging adults. In addition to direct services, we use our experience and deep connection to our communities to advocate for equitable access to services, and policy changes that advance equity for all.

When one of us succeeds, we all succeed!

Neighborhood House is on a mission to becoming a multi-cultural, anti-racist agency. We are achieving this by sharing power, listening to and learning from each other and our communities, and working to repair past inequities. We are building a culture where equity is the foundation, inclusiveness is the default, and access for marginalized communities is the norm.

Our Agency Values include Community, Equity, Integrity, Relationships, and Sustainability. More information about our Agency Values can be found here .

for more details about our benefits program.

The Housing Advocate has the primary responsibility to secure and stabilize housing for community members experiencing homelessness, or housing instability. These services include, but are not limited to: housing relocation, eviction prevention, housing search, landlord liaison activities, financial coaching, and housing counseling. This position will work closely with the Housing Stability Manager to implement new housing and employment strategies aimed at linking housing case management and employment services with the goal of making progress toward living-wage employment and housing stability.

NH HS Case Mangers work in diverse communities where the majority of clients may have Limited English Proficiency.

• Conduct strengths-based assessment of housing placement barriers, and work in partnership with clients to develop plans for obtaining and maintaining permanent housing.
• Work closely with clients to address and resolve financial barriers to housing stability such as credit repair, debt reduction and other financial services.
• Work in partnership with clients and Employment Specialists to develop strategies and short- and long-term goals for obtaining and maintaining employment.
• Provide support to Housing Stability team for housing search and landlord communication.
• Provide advocacy-based case-management to clients to support forward progress on goals aligned with their individualized Self‑Sufficiency Action plans.
• Conduct financial coaching sessions with clients that includes helping them to understand housing requirements, create and adhere to budgets and build other skills needed for independent living.
• Conduct exit coaching activities and retention services for clients upon their completion of the program.
• Evaluate and assess level of financial and other support for clients on a regular basis to determine level of interventions.
• Whenever necessary, facilitate and conduct housing search with each client per individual needs, including attending site visits, assisting with application completion, sharing landlord connections.
• Assess for need and provide rental, utility or move‑in assistance which may include inspection of housing units for HUD habitability standards.
• Outreach, collaborate, build and maintain relationships with landlords, housing programs and other community agencies.
• In collaboration with the Housing Locators, research, develop and maintain knowledge of landlord/tenant laws, support client adherence to these laws, and assist in addressing landlord compliance issues.
• Assist in enrolling clients into public benefits such as Basic Food, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) through Washington Connection, and medical benefits through WA Healthfinder.
• Maintain knowledge of King County resources and provide appropriate referrals to address barriers to stable housing and employment,…