Outside In :: Serving homeless youth and low-income adults in Portland Oregon

Housing Specialist

The Housing Specialists provide support and programming for youth residents in the Transitional Housing program. As a team, they will provide services to residents in the Transitional Housing program on-site at Outside In 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In addition, Housing Specialist support youth in Medical Housing and the Independent Apartment Program. They engage youth on an individual and group basis to remove barriers and increase success. They support youth to be successful with their Action Plans. They coordinate with Housing Case Managers and other system personnel as needed. They will oversee the material and systems operations of the Housing Program. The long-term goal of the Transitional Housing program is to help youth increase their social and self-sufficiency skills, so they can move out of the system into independent living.

Portfolios:

Support Residents in the Transitional Housing Program

Build positive relationships with youth through role modeling and mentoring.
Be available on site to residents in the Transitional Housing Program on a regular basis, which includes 24-hour staffing at Outside In.
Provide crisis counseling services to residents as needed.
Utilize harm reduction philosophy in problem solving to help residents identify healthier options.
Provide support for youth to accomplish the goals identified in their Action Plan.
Provide support to youth by serving as a Contact Person, meeting with youth weekly to develop and monitor plans to accomplish goals and meet program expectations.
Monitor youth compliance with program agreements.

Group Facilitation

Support youth in a self-governance model of regular, weekly "pod" and quarterly "all resident" meetings.
Design and facilitate life skill building workshops that meet the needs of current residents in the Transitional Housing program; i.e. time and budget management, food shopping and preparation, conflict resolution, anger management, etc.
Coordinate with agency and community to maximize youth access to skill building resources.
Support youth in developing constructive use of time through community involvement, healthy recreation, etc.

Program Operation

Assure material and operational support is provided in both the cluster living and independent apartment components of the Housing Program.
Conduct regular room, community living spaces, and apartment checks.
Assure maintenance and basic upkeep of the units is completed including; painting, repairs, etc.
Involve youth in maintaining the program space as much as possible.
Identify cleaning needs for medical housing units and plan to accomplish as needed.
Provide and transfer furniture as needed.
Oversee basic upkeep of the units, painting, repairs, etc, involving youth as much as possible.
Identify maintenance issues and make requests for repairs. Follow through to assure completion of needed repairs.
Identify security and safety issues. Communicate needs to Support Staff as necessary.

Youth Involvement in Housing Program Community

Involve and empower youth residents in generating community within the Housing Program.
Support youth generated activities and governance.

Program and System Coordination

Share information about interventions with each youth's Case Manager when appropriate; participate in case planning to manage future crises when possible.
Coordinate with agency and community resources to remove barriers and enhance youth's chances for success.
Review application for Transitional Housing and work with Housing Case Managers and other staff to facilitate move-ins and move-outs.

Service Documentation

Maintain accurate and timely documentation of all services and interventions.
Work with staff to ensure that services are documented to meet all program and funder requirements.
Complete all required statistics and reports in a thorough and timely manner.

Team Coordination

Establish and facilitate effective communication with staff. This includes serving as a conduit of information for teammates and between Housing Program staff and the Department Manager.
Participate in updating program staff on resource, referral and other information they need to perform their job responsibilities.
Encourage teamwork among Housing Program staff.
Assure process for effective facilitation of team meetings, including staffing of residents.
Plan services, including life skills program, as well as improvements for the Housing Program to meet the desired outcomes stated in contracts.
Work with the team of Housing Program staff to evaluate team function and implement program changes.

Peer Support and Staff Recognition

Debrief with fellow staff about crisis situations.
Discuss challenging situations with youth and get feedback about how to support youth in this Program incorporating therapeutic approaches when possible.
Develop and implement processes to recognize staff for their accomplishments and to support them in their hard work and job stresses.

Service Documentation

Maintain accurate and timely documentation of all services and interventions.
Complete all required statistics and reports in a thorough and timely manner.

Lead Responsibilities

In addition, Housing Specialists function as a team to develop, coordinate, facilitate and evaluate the services provided in the Housing Program. Included in these responsibilities is:

Hiring, training, and supervising all Housing Program staff and volunteers.
Developing and supervising a life skills program as part of housing services offered.
Integrating Housing Program offerings with agency services and community resources when possible.
Providing support and programming for residents enrolled in both cluster living and independent apartments.
Schedule and participate in the 24-hour coverage for the onsite cluster housing.
Engaging youth on an individual and group basis to remove barriers and increase success.
Serving as members of the Youth Services Department team and coordinating with Program Coordinators to integrate programs and coordinate services.
Supporting youth to be successful with their Action Plans, including coordinating with Case Managers and other agency and Homeless Youth Continuum personnel as needed.
Overseeing the material and systems operations of the program.

To accomplish these Team goals, Housing Specialists may have lead responsibilities reflected in the following:

Portfolios:

Evaluate Staff Performance

Provide performance feedback to program staff throughout the year and at the annual performance review.
Initiate performance evaluation process.
Solicit peer reviews.
Compile draft narrative review and seek any needed feedback.
Assist in completing individual staff reviews as well as an annual team review.

Hiring and Training

Training New People

Provide adequate orientation and training for all Housing Program staff and volunteers.
Maintain comprehensive new staff orientation and training checklist. Work with and monitor new staff to complete all.

Training/Professional Development Plans for Existing Staff

Assess the training needs of Housing Program staff and arrange to meet these needs in collaboration with the Youth Services Department Manager.
Identify professional development plans for all staff and support staff to attend trainings.
Help educate staff about and manage team training budget.

On-Call Support

Develop regular trainings for on-call staff.

Volunteer Connection & Support

Supervise all volunteers.
Generate and update volunteer job descriptions/portfolios and coordinate volunteer recruiting and training with agency wide efforts.

Budget and Supply Oversight

Manage and disburse resources accessed through the program.
Monitor Housing Program expenses and budget - obtaining needed approval for purchases and communicating with staff about purchases and budgetary implications.
Ensure that Housing Program supplies and other equipment/materials are available to staff and residents as needed.
Shop or order supplies as needed.
Coordinate with Volunteer Resource Coordinator to obtain donated supplies to meet program needs whenever possible.
Organize program supplies for staff to access as needed and track inventory.

Youth Development and Life Skills Program

Plan group activities and generate resources for individual life skills work with youth.
Conduct "Ready to Rent" classes.
Solicit and supervise volunteers that assist with providing life skills training/learning opportunities for youth through the Housing Program.
Coordinate with community and agency partners (Day Services, ERC, etc.) to coordinate life skills training/learning options for youth in connection with the Housing Program.
Review and monitor youth accomplishments at increasing life skills in the 6 key areas.
Coordinate with and support Housing Specialists in the area of Life Skills as they serve as Contact People providing direct support to youth in monitoring their overall accomplishments and goals while in the program.
Maintain and update tracking system for Life Skills Program accomplishments and outcomes.
Review the system for monitoring and tracking Life Skills plans and accomplishments. Overview for consistency of application and effectiveness.
Support youth generated activities and otherwise involve and empower youth residents in generating ideas for the Life Skills program. .
Assure all program activities tracked/documented.

Housing Team Liaison

Participate in both overall agency planning and community planning, including coordination and integration of Housing Program elements.
Attend weekly Program Coordinators meeting at Outside In.
Participate in Youth Department Coordination meetings as needed.
Serve as an advocate for the Housing Team and a conduit of information to the Housing Team in a variety of forums.

Scheduling

Ensure adequate Housing Program coverage. This includes the 24-hour a day, 365 days a year staffing.
Maintain connection and schedule of availability of trained, substitute staff to fill in as needed.
Review time off requests, obtain needed authorization, and assist in obtaining needed coverage for staff's planned time off.
Collect staff time sheets, review for completedness, and route to Program Manager for signature.

Policy and Procedure Development and Update

Develop, update, and maintain a policy and procedures manual for the Housing Program incorporating youth and staff feedback and reflecting team decisions.
Maintain the "Housing Process" document outlining procedures from application through move-out.
Maintain accurate and thorough policy procedures for all program components, including Medical Housing.
Review safety practices in the Housing Program with the Department Manager and the Agency's Safety Committee to ensure that safety standards are met and maintained.

Overview Program Supports for Residents in the Transitional Housing Program

Monitor youth compliance with program agreements and consistency in applying program expectations and consequences.
Oversee process for resident move-in and move-outs.
Initiate and monitor resident probation and program exits.
Reviews all probations and terminations quarterly for consistency.

Youth Involvement and Youth Self-Governance in Housing Program Community

Involve and empower youth residents in generating community within the Housing Program.
Support youth self-governance processes.
Assist in facilitation of weekly floor and pod meetings.
Assure all group meetings, including attendees, decisions made, and next steps are documented.

Independent Apartments

Conduct apartment checks at least monthly.
Provide "spot checks" to apartments as needed.
Assist youth in accessing furnishings through the community warehouse.
Maintain list of possible apartment/housing options/resources for youth moving into the community.
Coordinate youth move-in and endings in the Independent Apartment Program: assure all required paperwork is complete.
Assist youth in Independent Apartments with communicating with landlords or other community resources to meet needs.
Coordinate with Housing Case Managers to provide accurate information for "Rent Sheets" monthly.

General Program Outreach and Education

Conduct Program Orientation Meetings, offered at least twice weekly.
Review, update, and maintain informational materials for youth and the community (brochure, overview, application, etc.)
Field referral calls and route prospective applicants to Orientation sessions and/or other community resources.
Assist in maintaining tracking system for youth preparing for Housing.
Develop and maintain systems to support full program occupancy - conduct outreach as needed.

Application Review and Program Eligibility Determination

Collect and review completed program applications.
Work with applicants to complete applications, including tracking youth progress on application completion.
Attend staffing of Case Managers for youth applying for Housing.
Conduct applicant interviews.
Participate in determination team meetings.
Provide written responses to youth about determination and other decisions made by the Housing Team about application, eligibility, and extensions.
Assist in maintaining tracking system for youth preparing for Housing.
Maintain waiting list of youth accepted into Housing Program and preparing for residency.

Service Documentation

Assure timely and thorough completion of all Crosswalk data entry.
Maintain accurate documentation of move-ins, move-outs, and nights tracking. Enter any required data into databases and submit monthly reports.
Turn in Medical Housing tracking and billing information monthly.
Complete "Rent Sheets" monthly and submit for approval by the 20th of each month.
Work with staff to assure that services are documented to meet all program and funder requirements.
Review and assure accurate and timely documentation of all services and interventions in resident records and databases.
Complete all required statistics and reports in a thorough and timely manner.

General Job Performance Standards

Meet regularly with supervisor.
Support agency goals.
Support the transition to a new system of service delivery.
Be able to work with a diverse population.
Be able to work both independently and as a member of a team.
Commitment to continual learning and quality performance.
Perform all required documentation and information input in a professional, thorough, and timely manner.
Carry out job duties according to the time schedule established with supervisor.
Maintain professional boundaries and performance at all times.
Support the operational functioning of the Youth Program as a whole.