Housing Advocate MoCo RRH, (1492)

About the role

At Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington, your knowledge and service in areas such as immigrants and refugees, mental health, social work, employment and adult education, legal and financial services, health care, food assistance, shelter and housing, developmental disabilities and prison outreach can make a profound difference in the lives of many. Through more than 50 programs across the district and five surrounding counties, Catholic Charities is opening doors to help and hope. We continue to build an inclusive culture that celebrates a diverse workforce and offer professional development, a comprehensive benefits package, and a passion for building and motivating world class, high performing teams.

The RRH Housing Advocate connects individuals and families experiencing homelessness with supportive services and short term rental subsidy in partnership with Montgomery County Services to End and Prevent Homelessness (SEPH). Housing Advocates aid referred clients through the housing search, application and lease up process, and provide short-term supportive case management services to ensure clients remain stably housed while the program provides subsidy support. Housing Advocates work primarily in the community, in client’s homes, and in collaboration with other community providers to help clients access resources, remain stably housed, promote greater self-sufficiency, and increase life skills. Case management frequency and intensity is determined by ongoing needs assessment, observed necessity and request of client within the program length of stay.

Responsibilities

• Coordinates with Montgomery County Housing Locators, administrators and interagency case management teams to receive and process client referrals for program intake, orientation and screening.
• Assists referred clients with the identification, application and leasing of permanent housing options provided through the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Housing Location Program within 30 days of referral.
• Assists clients with the application and acquisition of all eligible entitlements and required identifying documentation.
• Documents all client interactions and services in the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS).
• Establishes and maintains positive working rapport with client landlords, housing providers and other case management teams to support clients in ongoing and continued stability in their identified housing unit.
• Makes appropriate referrals for substance abuse, mental health, legal, medical, dental, educational, recreational, vocational, employment, and other housing needs.
• Assists clients in developing long-term housing and self-sufficiency goals, and re-evaluating goals in three-month intervals or more frequently as needed.
• Regularly assesses client’s acuity, financial stability and general progress.
• Supports clients in developing a working financial plan that promotes increased budgeting skills, maintenance of housing, timely rental payments and improved credit.
• Creates and maintains case records in accordance with timeliness expectations of contract and program, including legal documentation, assessments, case notes, case plans, service updates, court reports, medical reports, referrals, discharge summaries, visitation records and educational information.
• Provides crisis response as needed to link clients to treatment and/or resources related to substance abuse, mental health and physical health challenges.
• Completes reports, maintains statistical caseload data, and meets programmatic, documentation and other performance standards on an ongoing basis and in a timely manner.
• Enhances the client’s environment by creating a hospitable and customer-oriented facility.
• Facilitates, in concert with supervisory team, individual and group intervention meetings as needed.
• Serves as a member of the multidisciplinary program team.
• Performs all other related duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Human Services or related field required.
• For social work degrees, social work licensure in the appropriate jurisdiction is required.
• For professional counseling degrees, professional counseling licensure in the appropriate jurisdiction is required.
• Two years’ experience working with vulnerable populations, particularly with clients who have a persistent and severe mental illness, substance abuse disorder or other health condition, a history of homelessness and/or are domestic violence survivors.
• In some cases, minimum years of experience can be substituted with additional related certifications or education.
• Driving is required for this position; use of a personal vehicle required (mileage reimbursement covered by program).

Skills

• Excellent communication both verbal and written utilizing a variety of styles and techniques appropriate to the audience.
• Ability to prepare clear, concise and accurate reports, correspondence, and other job-related documents with little to no errors.
• Ability to work effectively under pressure.

Benefits

• Robust professional development and training opportunities
• Medical, prescriptions, dental and vision insurance
• Retirement savings plan with company match
• Company-paid and supplemental life insurance
• Short Term/Long Term disability
• Group Life Insurance and AD&D
• Other Volunteer Insurance Benefits
• Flexible spending accounts
• Paid vacation, sick and personal leave
• 11 paid holidays
• Tuition reimbursement
• Employee referral bonus program
• Parenting leave
• Pet’s Insurance

Schedule

Monday – Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM. Work is normally performed in community, client home or a typical office facility environment.