COMMUNITY ASSOCIATE

Community Associate

The New York City Department of Homeless Services (DHS) is the largest organization in the United States dedicated to preventing and addressing homelessness. In partnership with other City Agencies and Nonprofit Organizations, DHS works to prevent homelessness before it begins, reduces street homelessness, provide temporary shelter, and connect individuals and families to stable housing all with a focus on accountability, empathy, and equity. DHS is committed to continuous improvement and employs innovative strategies to deliver high-quality services that support a swift transition from shelter to self-sufficiency. The agency manages hundreds of facilities and operates with a large team as well as a several billion-dollar budget to meet the diverse needs of New Yorkers experiencing homelessness. The Division of Shelter Intake is responsible for the oversight of the day-to-day operations of the agency's Single Adult, Adult Families and Families with Children's intake and assessment sites, both directly run and contracted providers. This Division is responsible for ensuring that the City's most vulnerable population can access shelter, according to eligibility criteria, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

The Department of Homeless Services (DHS) is recruiting for one (1) Community Associate who will:

• Interact with the various communities, interview families within the various communities and issue social service referrals.
• Attend onsite/offsite/ community meetings to share important issues affecting the homeless population and the unit's daily operation. Able to offer insight improvement.
• Maintain liaison with various community shelters to convey shelter placement information and facilitate transportation to various community shelters.
• Assist the Community Coordinator with handling onsite/offsite client inquiries with the highest level of confidentiality and sensitivity, during the application process.
• Record all information pertaining to client information and social service referrals utilizing the on-line CARES and Q-Flow, accurately input codes to register applicants for temporary housing office: convey shelter placement information and facilitate transportation to various community shelters.
• Perform high level responsible clerical duties, as assigned by the Site Manager, such as preparing written monthly, quarterly, and annual administrative statistical.
• Chronicle indicator reports that they would share information in re to shelter placements. Collect, analyze and evaluate on-site and statistical data from various sources, and communicate the results to superiors. Maintain liaison with various units to be able to process schedule and reports, coordinate and prepare case files and documents.
• Work closely with the Community Coordinator to coordinate the transfer of case records, forms, and referrals to receiving shelters. Discarded Unused documents according to agency policy and maintain files for future reference.

Hours/Schedule: 4pm X 12am – Friday – Saturday.

Minimum Qualifications

Qualification Requirements 1. High school graduation or equivalent and three years of experience in community work or community centered activities in an area related to duties described above; or 2. Education and/or experience which is equivalent to "1" above.

Preferred Skills

The worker should be able to relate well with others, be flexible in responding to supervisor's requests for priority tasks, have good communication skills, be attentive to details, take pride in his/her work, have an overall courteous and helpful telephone manner, ability to perform computer operations, be a team player and be self-motivated.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education's website at

Residency Requirement

New York City residency is generally required within 90 days of appointment. However, City Employees in certain titles who have worked for the City for 2 continuous years may also be eligible to reside in Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, or Orange County. To determine if the residency requirement applies to you, please discuss with the agency representative at the time of interview.

Additional Information

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.