Housing Counselor

Metro Housing Boston•Boston, MA

13d•Hybrid

About The Position

This position is established as a general departmental staff position that is available to provide services in myriad capacities within the framework of Financial Assistance activities. This position will work across all teams within the Financial Assistance Department including primarily but not limited to; the Housing Consumer Education Center, RAFT, and Operations teams. As such, this staff person will participate in the HCEC walk-in and resource line coverage schedule, conduct Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) program, screens, intakes and follow up, assist with housing search activities, respond as needed to external referrals, and assist with all operation activities including data input and financial assistance processes. The focus and daily activities of this position are dependent on needs of the department and may vary daily or, in contrast, the staff person may be assigned to cover activities, cases or a position for an extended period of time.

Requirements

High School Diploma Required with relevant experience. Associate Degree preferred;
Case management experience with homeless individuals and families;
Experience with crisis intervention regarding issues such as homelessness, mental health, and substance abuse; housing barriers including legal, financial, psychological and criminal;
Knowledge and experience with service agencies and resources for homeless individuals and families;
Willingness to work as part of a team to promote the goals of the agency;
Sensitive to the needs of the homeless, low income and diverse populations;
Ability to work in a busy, diverse team setting; and
Excellent time management, organizational and communication skills.

Nice To Haves

Candidates with multilingual skills (verbal and written). We are seeking candidates that speak and write in English and at least one of the following languages (for interpreting and translation): Haitian Creole, Portuguese and Spanish

Responsibilities

Respond to all consumer housing-related inquiries and/or requests for assistance through the Resource Line call center, resource email and lobby.
As needed, provide information and referral services, and brief counseling around immediate client concerns and/or barriers to housing, including but not limited to: financial instability, legal issues, mental health issues, substance abuse, under-employment, health care, and housekeeping;
As needed, obtain resources and services as requested and/or needed to address clients’ needs, including but not limited to: housing applications, negotiation and mediation with property owners and utility companies, fuel assistance, and shelter information;
As needed, administer homelessness prevention funds, including Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT), by conducting intakes, screening families for program eligibility, and meeting with heads of household directly to complete paperwork and determine an appropriate course of action: either administering funding or providing counseling and referral services, or both;
Participate in ongoing trainings and meetings offered by EOHLC on E2E updates and understand thoroughly all homelessness prevention programs rules and guidance Understand thoroughly all homelessness prevention programs rules and guidance
As needed, assist clients with on-going housing search including but not limited to, contacting prospective landlords and/or management companies, accompanying clients to view and apply for units, attending appointments at housing agencies and other search activities as they present;
Able to assist colocation program as needed, and travel to different sites to provide services.
As needed, assist clients with move-in transition supports including but not limited to: furniture and furnishings assistance, budget support, and other resources and services as needed;
For clients on caseload, maintain on-going relationship with placed clients and/or ensure that they are connected to community supports and services;
Maintain accurate client records, collect, and enter all required data into CMS regularly; responsible for generating data reports in CMS
Work closely with the other client services staff and the workshop committee to develop and conduct housing search workshops to address varied needs and stages of housing search; and
Other duties as assigned.