POSITION DESCRIPTION: Outreach Specialist

HOURS & LOCATION: 1.0(FTE) 40 hours per week, including some evenings and weekends. This is a field-based position with varying schedule and requires extensive local travel.

Pay Rate: $20.00-$24.00/hourly + current array of benefits

SUPERVISOR: Housing Programs Manager Proposed Start Date: ASAP

SCOPE: Outreach Specialist has responsibility to identify and build rapport with individuals and families who are experiencing chronic homelessness and are in need of intensive services to have access to safe housing. The CHW will assist community members to facilitate a smooth and rapid transition for households prioritized through this system into available housing resources, by working with the community member holistically on a path to stability and safety. The CHW will help connect the community member to necessary social services, and act to reduce barriers for rapidly obtaining permanent housing. To achieve housing for all members of our community, the CHW builds trust with each individual, breaks down resistance to services, and remains determinedly focused on identifying appropriate and acceptable placements for our clients. CHW will provide individualized support throughout the entire journey by helping each community member develop a plan to address their barriers, assess their supports and set achievable long and short-term goals, with an emphasis on healing from trauma, and long term health promotion.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide supportive services in a culturally-responsive, non-judgmental manner.

• Conduct Street outreach in designated areas in order to assist unsheltered community members; outreach will occur in designated neighborhoods at designated times , and in many cases, seeking to build rapport with specific individuals identified as being particularly vulnerable.

• Initiate contact and establish regular interactions and engagement with unsheltered community members for the purpose of providing assistance with attaining safety and access to needed services. Coordinate individualized needs assessment for all community members and work with community members to develop short and long term goals that address barriers to obtain services and/or housing. Monitor and evaluate each community member’s progression towards their goals, and develop modifications to the plan as necessary.

• Provide information, “hands-on” referrals, linkages, and personal advocacy to assist community members in accessing services and resources. Directly assist a “case load” of 25 community members with procuring necessary documents and services such as identification card, birth

certificate, income verification, SNAP, or OHP and other linkages that may help diminish barriers to housing.

• Complete supportive housing assessments (VI-SPDAT) and help match individuals into community-based, subsidized, treatment focused, shared or other types housing. Advocate for community members with prospective landlords, working closely with Urban League Housing Specialists and Resiliency Specialists and ISEP partners to ensure that those who do obtain housing are able to retain it in the long term.

• Promote culturally responsive mediation between community members and the social service system, the police bureau, mental health and substance use treatment programs, and other service providers. Provide holistic culturally appropriate and accessible health education and information and responsive crisis intervention for community members.

• Provide informal counseling and social support to community members while providing tools and resources focused on improving health and well-being for African Americans through supporting their efforts to find and maintain permanent housing. When shelter, housing, or social service linkage is not obtained, continue to engage with unsheltered community member and provide support.

• Work within existing community groups to identify and address the underlying causes of chronic homelessness while working to engage community members in a wide range of system-level or city, region, and statewide policy interventions to reduce disproportionate homelessness and other health disparities for African American.

• Maintain all related data tracking systems. Prepare related reports including outcomes, successes and challenges, including generating community member data for monthly reports. Using HMIS and apricot case management software, maintain complete and accurate documentation of service objectives and outcomes as well as other services in accordance with federal, state, county and Urban League policy & guidelines. Maintain complete client records, daily activity logs, mileage logs, and other reports as directed.

• Attend staff meetings, case conferences, coordinated access meetings, training workshops and community meetings as assigned.

• Any other duties as assigned.