Homeless Outreach Specialist

Description

As North County's largest social services agency, Interfaith Community Services has been "helping people help themselves" since 1979. The organization provides a wide range of programs designed to empower hungry, homeless, and low-income community members to begin a pathway towards self-sufficiency. Each year, Interfaith Community Services impacts more than 20,000 community members by providing basic needs and nutrition support, social services, shelters and housing, employment development, senior services, veterans programs and addiction recovery support.

Together, in partnership with 250+ diverse faith communities, more than 1,700 recurrent volunteers, and a growing staff of over 275, Interfaith provides a safe-haven and pathway towards self-sufficiency for more than 20,000 community members annually.

If you're passionate about making a difference and thrive in a service-driven environment, we invite you to be part of our mission!

In the Homeless Outreach Specialist 1 role, you’ll provide field-based outreach, short-term crisis intervention, and case management to individuals experiencing homelessness with Substance Use Disorders (SUD) and Serious Mental Illness (SMI). The Homeless Outreach Specialist will provide outreach and short-term case management to the North County region to connect individuals experiencing homelessness to housing, health, and other supportive services. The position will attend and support case conferencing and ensure that clients with ongoing treatment needs are successfully connected with appropriate community-based treatment programs.

The position will interact closely with the interdepartmental treatment team of behavioral health clinicians, clients, homeless outreach workers, community partners, program leadership and staff.

• Conducts outreach and engagement with individuals experiencing homelessness
• Identifies, engages and links underserved populations with SUD and behavioral health services
• Provides direct services to homeless clients and families, which include: intake, assessment, referrals and case management as well as client advocacy with the goal of supporting self-sufficiency
• Outreach teams will employ a regionalized, neighborhood-based model to build collaborative relationships with unhoused individuals as well as community stakeholders
• Provides direct services to clients including short term counseling, crisis intervention, an linkage with longer term services
• Participates in outreach events for the purpose of engagement and client linkage
• Participates, when appropriate, in case conferences for clients receiving counseling services
• Develops and maintains effective relationships with mental health providers to ensure that clients with ongoing treatment needs are successfully transferred to longer term services
• Maintains accurate records and files and prepares reports as required by funders and agency administration
• Enter data into the regional Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) client database, the Coordinated Entry System (CES) and/or other electronic data systems as required by funders and Interfaith
• Monitors compliance with grant and contract requirements. Makes recommendations to supervisor regarding any program changes needed to meet grant benchmarks
• Ensures the confidentiality of client information and health records
• Meets regularly with supervisor and participate in agency meetings and staff trainings
• Provides trauma informed and culturally competent client services
• Performs additional duties as assigned

Requirements

You're passionate about making a lasting impact, whether supporting individuals directly or enhancing our organizational effectiveness. To thrive in this role, you'll:

• High School Diploma, required
• Bachelor’s degree in related social services or equivalate years of relevant work experience, preferred
• Experience working with severely mentally ill, medically fragile, and homeless population, preferred
• Bilingual (English/Spanish), preferred

• Must have experience and knowledge of working with…