Housing Specialist

General Description: The Housing Specialist provides assistance, information and support to participants throughout the Enhanced Family Foster Care and Residential Prenatal/Postpartum/Parenting Programs in an effort to access and maintain stable, affordable housing if they are exiting foster care and gain independent living and life skills. The Housing Specialist assists Coaches and young people in conducting specific, specialized, and targeted tasks that will help them achieve their housing/independent living goals. Key Areas of Responsibility: • Monitor and track the housing application process and advocate for all LSSNY youth to ensure appropriate housing, • Assess youth eligibility in determining their housing and service needs, • Explore options, apply to and secure NYCHA, Supportive housing, Section 8 vouchers, NYC affordable housing lotteries, and other housing opportunities for eligible youth as soon as they turn 18, • Helps the youth process first month's rent and security deposit for each obtained apartment, • Schedules and coordinates furniture shopping with each young person as they obtain their apartment, • Support youth around addressing rental arrears including exploring onshot deals and other community, state, and city resources. • Collect, document, and track housing data every month in Care4 for all youth served by the Fair Futures program, ensuring all housing activity is entered, • Check-in on young people's application status and follow-up with NYCHA and supportive housing residences, as needed, • Identifies and seeks to eliminate housing barriers such as removing them off a relative's household composition or helping the youth get a Certificate of Disposition, • Assists participants with the search for available properties and negotiating viewings and applications with and on behalf of the youth, POSITION: Housing Specialist REPORTS TO: Fair Futures Program Supervisor CLASSIFICATION: Full Time STATUS: Exempt Annual Salary: $50,000 - 55,000 • Collaborates with government agencies, community organizations and property owners, • Develops, cultivates, and maintains housing resources which includes establishing relationships with landlords and brokers and supportive housing providers, • Ensures that participants understand their rights and responsibilities as tenants, • Investigates and resolves client and landlord issues, • Provides information and refers participants to additional support programs or services, • Escorts youth as deemed necessary, including but not limited to open houses/apartment viewings and/or lease signings, • Hosts on-site and virtual workshops for youth and staff related to housing readiness, options, processes, and next steps; • Completes pro-active follow up contact to ensure stability and further progress towards self-sufficiency and continued housing; this includes support, advocacy, reviewing documentation, problem solving and identification of resources to assist with transition of participants to independent living in the community; • Provides youth with access to civic understanding and local representatives and advocates. • Complete the Preparing Youth for Adulthood and Discharge Checklist, when needed, and share it with the case planning team, • Provides case planning, mental health, and other stakeholders with a progress report on a youth's housing status and process; • Attends FTC, ACS Housing Academy, Fair Futures Learning Communities meetings, and other training related to housing, • Other duties as assigned by Supervisor. Education: • Required Bachelor's Degree in Social Work, or related field. • Experience working with at-risk or system-involved young people, housing in the various NYC boroughs, foster care, or a youth advocacy-related field is strongly preferred. Skills & Abilities: • Knowledgeable about the New York City housing market, entitlement programs, social service agencies and community services, including current housing subsidies and public benefits programs, • Good written and oral communication skills, as well as interpersonal and listening skills, • Strong analytical, mediating and negotiation skills, • Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail, including the ability to manage clients from all over the city with varying situations, backgrounds, and needs, • Sensitive to intersectionality, different cultures, housing equality and a demonstrated ability to work within a social/racial justice framework, • Able to maintain healthy boundaries, • Able to remain calm during moments of tension and stress, • Commitment to empowering others to solve their own problems, • Conviction about the capacity of people to grow and change, • Consistent and reliable, • Ability to effectively collaborate in team settings and build relationships with external partners, • Ability to troubleshoot, advocate, and navigate obstacles where there is not always a clear-cut pathway, • Capacity to maintain a role to empower participants and to intervene appropriately to meet service goals, • Bilingual in Spanish preferred, • Working knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word and Excel).DATE UPDATED: 10/18/23. This position description contains the major responsibilities required to perform this job. These responsibilities may change at any time to meet the needs of our clients, funders, or the Agency.

Education: • Required Bachelor's Degree in Social Work, or related field. • Experience working with at-risk or system-involved young people, housing in the various NYC boroughs, foster care, or a youth advocacy-related field is strongly preferred.