SOAR Housing Advocate (Housing Services)

Healthcare For the Homeless Inc • Baltimore, MD

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The SOAR Housing Advocate provides housing-related support and advocacy to individuals and families impacted by homelessness. The Specialist coordinates housing stability activities, provides referrals to needed community resources, develops housing plans, and delivers tenancy-based education that promotes housing retention. The Specialist also assists with grant monitoring and completes reports for the SOAR Housing First program.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required
• Personal vehicle with current automobile insurance and valid Maryland driver’s license required
• Two years of experience in connecting individuals to essential services including healthcare, mental health, and addiction services
• One year of experience completing intake assessments and developing treatment plans
• Knowledge of Baltimore City community resources for addiction, social services and mental health
• Willingness to adopt Harm Reduction and Housing First principles and apply them to work with clients
• Approaches change with a positive, open-minded attitude
• Demonstrates personal integrity and has well-developed interpersonal skills necessary to engage clients and promote positive relationships with other community agencies and providers
• Displays strong attention to detail and notices discrepancies easily
• Able to be flexible and work as part of an interdisciplinary team
• Able to take initiative and problem solve
• Able to work with ill, disabled, emotionally upset, and sometimes hostile clients

Nice To Haves

• Experience working in a health care setting preferred

Responsibilities

• Complete intake assessments for new clients referred to the SOAR Housing First program.  Ensure that all referral documentation is collected, reviewed, and validated to substantiate program enrollment.
• Support clients in finding and securing safe, affordable housing and help families access resources for housing-related assistance (i.e. furniture procurement, utility assistance, etc.).
• Maintain a caseload to provide support identifying community resources.  Partner with clients to create housing plans and assist with community referrals and linkage as indicated.
• Support the housing process by conducting pre-inspections for new unit move-ins and housing relocations.  Serves as liaison with housing inspector, helping to coordinate new, annual and other housing inspections to ensure compliance with program standards.
• Advocate with landlord and property managers regarding tenancy and negotiate move-in costs.
• With direction from the Housing Program Manager, complete regularly scheduled grant reporting.  Ensure that services are accurately recorded and captured in data reports and the electronic health record.
• Complete monthly budgets for clients enrolled in the agency’s representative payee program.
• Conduct social groups that promote community building, housing attainment, and housing retention.
• Perform regularly scheduled chart audits to ensure that documentation meets standards set by grant funders.  Obtain verification documents annually to support the housing recertification process.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Number of Employees: 101-250 employees