JOB SUMMARY: Under the direction of the Rapid Rehousing Director, the Housing Specialist works as part of a multi-disciplinary team to promote a housing-first model of case management to serve eligible individuals and families that are currently or imminently homeless. The Housing Specialist will focus on rapport and good communication with local landlords to locate and personally inspect housing that will meet the criteria of the program in terms of being safe and legal residences that can be rented at a rate amenable to the program and the client’s joint responsibility to pay. The Housing Specialist will need to be comfortable interacting with landlords, case managers, and clients with maturity and efficiency on an on-call basis, which may include weeknights and weekends. The position requires prior experience in service delivery within the community, housing inspections, and familiarity with tenancy and landlord obligations.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
- Responsible for inspecting units before client occupancy and as needed while tenants are staying within the unit and enrolled in the RRH program
- Responsible to coordinate each individual's placement with the rest of the RRH Team & participate in the direct provision of housing services.
- Provide “good tenancy” education and coaching to clients to promote housing retention.
- Assist consumers in establishing positive interactions with roommates, neighbors, landlord, etc.
- Assist consumers in becoming familiar with their local community & the resources available to them.
- Responsible for verifying housing is eligible for program use by verifying a certificate of occupancy exists and by documenting housing inspection
- Responsible to document efforts to network with new and current landlords in the community.
- Other housing-related duties as assigned.
