Housing Specialist

Overview The SOAR Housing Specialist 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. Key Role 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. Knowledge, Experience And Skills Formal Education and Training: Bachelor’s degree required. Personal vehicle with current automobile insurance and valid Maryland driver’s license required. Experience: 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. Experience working in a health care setting preferred. Skills: 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. Key Agency Responsibilities In addition to role responsibilities, every staff member has the following responsibilities as a part of their employment: Models and reinforces the core values of dignity, authenticity, hope, justice, passion, and balance. Actively participates in performance improvement and advocacy activities that support the mission. Protects clients’ personal health information by maintaining compliance with HIPAA and other relevant health care-related IT security regulations. Performs other duties on an as-needed basis. Why Join Us? Be part of a mission-driven team committed to racial equity, social justice, and community wellness. Work in a dynamic, people-first organization that centers compassion, authenticity, and hope. Receive training and support to grow in your advocacy and peer work. Help shape the future of housing and recovery services in Baltimore. Read more and apply here: About Health Care For The Homeless Locations: Baltimore City – Downtown - 421 Fallsway, Baltimore, MD 21202; Baltimore City – West Baltimore - 2000 W. Baltimore St., Suite 3300 Baltimore, MD 21223; Baltimore County - 9150 Franklin Square Dr., Suite 301 Baltimore, MD 21237 Our Vision: Everyone is healthy and has a safe home in a just and respectful community. Our Mission: We work to end homelessness through racially equitable health care, housing and advocacy in partnership with those of us who have experienced it. Our mission: ...to prevent and end homelessness for vulnerable individuals and families by providing quality, integrated health care and promoting access to affordable housing and sustainable incomes through direct service, advocacy and community engagement. Over 35+ years, Health Care for the Homeless has steadily grown and strengthened our approach to care to meet the needs of the vulnerable people we serve. We are driven by a single and unwavering goal: to improve access to care for clients, and to provide them with the highest possible quality of care. We are now implementing a care model that takes quality and access to a new level. A health home delivers person-centered, whole-person care that is evidence-based, uses data and listens to clients to continuously improve the care we deliver. We have been person-centered and focused on the whole person since the first client walked through our clinic doors in 1985. We’ve also always applied evidence-based standards to our work and used data to inform our care. What’s changed is how much we’ve grown over the years: We have more disciplines, staff members and sites. Coordinating all of our activity today requires a more powerful and standardized way of delivering care. We are a health home. Five areas of focus: As a health home, we apply five clinical areas of focus to the care we deliver. 1) ACCESS FOR THOSE WHO NEED US: People should be able to reach us easily when they need help. We ensure 24/7 access to clinical advice; make our appointment schedules and hours flexible and accommodating; and enable clients to access their health records electronically. We also are increasing our presence throughout the community with clinics in downtown Baltimore, West Baltimore and Baltimore County, and expanding street outreach and mobile clinics. 2) TEAM-BASED CARE 3) CARE MANAGEMENT 4) BETTER MANAGE AND COORDINATE CARE 5) IMPROVE THE HEALTH OF THE LARGER POPULATION Additional information on trauma-informed care and harm reduction approaches is included in the organization literature and patient-centered care model described in the original posting. #J-18808-Ljbffr