Temp Outreach Specialist-Sonoma

Temp Outreach Specialist-Sonoma County (86777) Overview

Salary Range

$24.98 - $24.98 Hourly

Level

Entry

Position Type

Full Time

Job Shift

Day

High School

Travel Percentage

Up to 25%

Category

Nonprofit - Social Services

COMPENSATION: $24.98 Hourly

Temporary

Terms:

July 2026 thru January 2027

ABOUT HOMEFIRST

Established in 1980, Home First™ is a nonprofit organization passionately working to end homelessness. We serve the Bay Area community through low-barrier programming and systems leadership – meeting each person where they are by offering support and resources that address immediate and long-term housing needs. With nearly 45 years of experience, we view housing as a fundamental human right and understand that solving homelessness requires a collaborative effort.

OUR VALUES

• Kindness
  :
  We act with empathy toward others.
• Passion
  :
  We ignite change to fulfill our mission.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Home First Coordinated Entry System Outreach team’s purpose is to locate participants who have been identified as eligible for a housing intervention through the Coordinated Entry System who are not already connected to a provider for case management. This team will reach vulnerable participants who have so far not been successfully referred to a housing opportunity because they are difficult to find within Sonoma County.

The CES Outreach team consists of two Outreach Specialists and a program manager. The team will be headquartered in the Home First Santa Rosa office and will respond to CES outreach needs throughout Sonoma County. The Outreach Specialist is accountable to a high participant contact success, documentation and policy compliance, and maintaining effective partnerships in the community.

QUALITIES:

• The Outreach Specialist prefers fieldwork over office-based work, and is self-driven and flexible in a day-to-day that rarely follows expectations.
• The Outreach Specialist has a "whatever it takes" approach to moving people into housing, meeting barriers with creativity and meeting clients where they are.
• The Outreach Specialist is persistent and takes an inventive approach to locating participants and problem-solving barriers.
• The Outreach Specialist is highly collaborative and enjoys a team-oriented and collaborative. They actively drive progress towards shared goals for their participants among varying service providers.
• This position will connect highly vulnerable individuals with referred housing opportunities and various providers; the Outreach Specialist must be organized and accountable to multiple priorities.
  • Home First is a diverse company in a diverse field, and the Outreach Case Manager desires to work with people from a variety of social and economic backgrounds.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

Direct Services (60%)

• Provides linkage and coordinate services to community resources, including health care and shelter, vital documents and benefits applications, family reunification, Housing Problem Solving, etcetera.
• Utilizes best practices in homeless services including:
  Housing First models with a strength-based approach, Harm Reduction, Trauma-Informed Care, Motivational Interviewing, Crisis Prevention and Intervention, and Safety Planning.
• Proactively advocates for participants and collaborates with community partners to successfully connect the participant with the referred housing opportunity and gather necessary documentation.
• Ensures homeless verification for participants follows HUD and contract standards.
• Conducts a warm handoff of the program participant to the identified supportive services provider.
• Refers located participants to service providers immediately and no later than one business day.
• Understands and engages in executing various outreach strategies to locate and re-engage participants in services.
• Provide access and coordination to emergency shelter, meals, showers, and laundry services to unsheltered program participants.
• Makes timely and accurate decisions in emergency or crisis situations with awareness of the need for the safety of all clients, staff, or volunteers involved.
• Ability to listen, comprehend, and effectively communicate information both in writing and orally with all individuals.
• Communicates effectively with service providers to complete warm hand off with clients.
• Other duties as assigned.

Documentation (25%)

• Documents, via progress notes in HMIS, all outreach activity within five business days.
• Maintains detailed, consistent case notes in HMIS and regularly updates necessary touchpoints.
• Gathers and uploads scanned documents and verifications.
• Tracks collections of documentation.
• Tracks located and unable to locate referrals through internal trackers etc.
• Monitors and updates outreach list/referrals trackers.
  
  Maintains physical case file paperwork and documentation as needed.
• Assists with data quality management of participant information and CES touchpoints in HMIS.
• Participates in ongoing analysis of and program alignment with industry best practices.
• Proactively and consistently improves the quality and…