Housing Specialist

Overview

The Housing Specialist is a member of the Motel Support Team that provides outreach and support to serve participants who are housed in emergency motel placements with the goal of connecting motel participants to housing opportunities. The goal of the Motel Support Team is to provide supplemental support and connection to motel program participants and aid consumers in accessing community based resources.

The Housing Specialist will provide services including: tenant education, linkage to housing opportunities (supported living, independent living, semi-independent, etc.), assisting in the application process, submission of reasonable accommodations, community living/integration, Rent Well skills and curriculum. In addition, the Housing Specialist will provide advocacy, crisis prevention and de-escalation, skills training, community navigation, case management, transportation and support for housing screenings/tours, community navigation skills training for tours/screenings, or facilitation of transportation (e.g., ensuring bus tickets/fare are accessible, directions/address provided), collaborative meetings with treatment teams and other external providers to ensure safe housing placement, and referring to community based supports or other resources as indicated to support the participant’s next step in housing.

With additional peer and risk case management support the program aims to minimize participant hospitalizations (emergency department and psychiatric admissions), increase necessary contact between the participant and their respective mental health and substance use service providers, and aid linkage to transitional or permanent housing programs.

• Communication:
  Clear, direct and concise. Keeps people informed. Listens effectively to others.
• Teamwork:
  Effective at working in team situations.
• Utilizing available resources for personal wellness:
  Communicates with Supervisor or other designated New Narrative personnel to meet personal wellness and safety needs.
• Adaptability:
  Ability to modify or change service delivery as needed to best fit the needs of program participants and New Narrative values
• Analytical thinking:
  Attention to detail over sustained periods of time.
• Dependability:
  Counted on to follow through on commitments: at work each day and on time; work completed in a timely fashion.
• Aptitude:
  Ability to comprehend and apply new ideas, processes and procedures, or training.
• Demeanor:
  Remaining calm in crisis situations, empathetic, unbiased, non-judgmental and excellent peer model skills.

• Willing to meet and engage with people “where they are,” including their environment and readiness for change.
• Meet consistently with participants to work toward housing stability and maintain waitlist status and coordination.
• Provide skills training, advocacy, case management, community navigation to support caseload participants in working towards their identified goals.
• Educates other employees, agencies, and the community at large about Fair Housing for persons with disabilities and advocates for the highest possible level of integration of SPMI tenants into their community.

• Coordinate with housing resources for housing opportunities, access to resources to support housing stability and safety (e.g., Home Forward, Coordinated Access, Northwest Pilot Project, property management, etc.).
• Coordinate with Coordinated Access team and obtain/maintain certification to conduct MSST assessments and reporting.
• Maintain professionalism in encounters with participants and other providers.
• Submit reasonable accommodations as indicated.
• Provide additional support to Case Management team for participant connection to vital documentation.
• Participate in participant care conferences for wrap around care.
• Maintain clear and up to date records regarding housing waitlist, status, and communicate to treatment teams and motel support team.
• Ability to work in collaboration with acute care settings if necessary.
• Ability to work in collaboration with emergency services (e.g., police, Project Respond, Multnomah County Crisis,…