SHELTER ASSISTANT
About The Position
Bethany House Services is hiring a part-time Shelter Assistant at its Reading Road location in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Shelter Assistant is a front-line member of the team serving families experiencing homelessness. The role welcomes and orients families, responds to questions and needs, and helps maintain a safe, respectful, and dignified shelter environment. It uses trauma-informed care, active listening, and de-escalation when supporting people in crisis, while maintaining professional boundaries and confidentiality. The position also includes distributing supplies, connecting families with resources, assisting with food service, conducting room checks and monitoring the building, cleaning, enforcing shelter guidelines, and completing shift notes and incident-related documentation. The Shelter Assistant may contact the on-call manager or authorities when needed and helps train new teammates. Work is indoors in a moderately noisy environment and involves regular movement and occasional lifting of up to 40 pounds. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.
Requirements
- High school diploma or equivalent.
- One year of experience in a social service setting.
- Valid driver’s license and ability to meet BHS vehicle insurance requirements.
- Successful completion of a criminal background check and drug screen.
- Ability to maintain confidentiality and professional boundaries.
- Ability to remain calm in a fast-paced environment and show reliable attendance.
- Ability to use Outlook, Word, and Excel.
- Ability to stand, walk, bend, kneel, reach, and lift; occasionally handle up to 40 pounds and regularly lift up to 10 pounds.
- Good close, distance, color, peripheral, and depth vision, and clear hearing and communication.
Nice To Haves
- Interest in learning about trauma-informed care and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
Responsibilities
- Greet families, orient new arrivals to the shelter, and answer questions.
- Use trauma-informed care, active listening, and de-escalation skills to respond to tense situations.
- Distribute supplies, connect families to resources, and assist with food service.
- Conduct room checks, monitor the building, and contact the on-call manager or authorities when necessary.
- Sweep, mop, disinfect, and otherwise help keep the shelter clean.
- Complete shift notes, incident reports, reasonable suspicion forms, and mandated reporter documentation accurately and confidentially.
- Enforce shelter guidelines with patience, respect, and appropriate professional boundaries.
- Show new teammates how to perform the work.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Part-time
Career Level
Entry Level
Education Level
High school or GED
