Job Summary: The Street Outreach Specialist is part of a coordinated team. The Specialist ensures that people’s basic needs are met while supporting them along pathways toward housing stability and supportive services as needed and desired. To educate youth and young adults (12-21 years of age) families, and the community to the availability and how to access services and community resources. To provide street-based outreach to youth and young adults (12-21 years of age) with alternatives to resorting to street life, other impulsive reactions to family crises, and homelessness. To expose youth, young adults and families to services which build on competencies, foster new alternative, coping strategies, develop leadership abilities, and achieve self-sufficiency. Must have a flexible schedule to work weekend events and scheduled night outreach. This is not always a 9-5 pm job.
1. Key Responsibility: The Specialist shall provide Street Outreach and Engagement services. Participants engaged should receive high performing services in accordance with Sea Haven policies, mission, vision, and values.
- Utilize a person-centered approach, motivational interviewing, trauma-informed care, and harm reduction models to provide direct services and service coordination for identified participants, maintaining flexibility, patience, trained engagement techniques, and empathy.
- Provide targeted street outreach, assuring appropriate geographic coverage, to communities within the
Sea Haven service area to identify unsheltered homeless persons living on the streets or other places
not meant for human habitation (e.g. parking lots, bridges, storage facilities, forest preserves, etc.).
- Establish rapport and reduce harm by providing critical, life-saving resources such as food, water,
clothing, blankets, and other necessities and determine the person’s immediate safety needs. Using a
trauma-informed approach, provide crisis intervention, practiced and proven competent engagement
techniques, and other skills and strategies needed for engagement.
- Perform assessments and prioritize for assistance as sheltered person assessed through the coordinated
entry process and make appropriate referrals into Coordinated Entry.
- Provide age-appropriate interaction and immediate referral to appropriate agencies with any homeless
youth encountered.
- Work as a team with the other staff members as appropriate to alternate responsibilities and negotiate tasks to ensure safety and engagement protocols are met, while offering multiple opportunities to say ‘no’ and making repeated offers of assistance as necessary throughout the engagement process.
- Ensure that encounters and interactions are respectful and responsive to the beliefs and practices, sexual
orientations, disability statuses, age, gender identities, cultural preferences, and linguistic needs of all
individuals.
- Follow safety protocols for vulnerable populations that involve fleeing domestic violence, as well as
dating violence, sexual assault, trafficking, or prostitution and make appropriate referrals with the
appropriate level of support to each participant and client as needed.
- Develop and maintain knowledge of resources, services and opportunities available to participants.
Deliver high quality crisis intervention and seek appropriate support to assist in difficult or emergency
client situations.
2. Key Responsibility: The Specialist will build rapport and maintain positive professional
relationships and coordinate with Community and Safe Place Partners.
- Establish working relationships with community stakeholders - law enforcement, libraries, first
responders, hospitals, health and behavioral healthcare providers, city staff liaisons, faith-based
organizations, and other community-based providers.
- Coordinate with Housing Services’ medical cooperative partners as applicable. Communicate and
cooperate with staff from other programs and stakeholders as needed to ensure seamless delivery of
service to clients with appropriate releases on file.
- Always maintain a high level of professionalism with a high-level of advocacy for participants within
community settings both private and public. Build and maintain positive relationships with community
partners to ensure a high level of collaboration to best provide care and services to populations served in
this role.
- Promote and gain Safe Place partners. Provide Safe Place site checks. Train Safe Place sites to receive youth.
3. Key Responsibility: The Specialist will coordinate services and provide referrals, while using a Housing First approach. Street Outreach does not impose preconditions to make referrals to permanent housing, shelter, or other temporary housing, such as sobriety, minimum income requirements, absence of a criminal record, completion of treatment, participation in services, or other unnecessary conditions.
- Ensure that a trauma-informed workplace, no matter the location, is achieved and maintained
demonstrating a balance of kindness, competence and care toward self, others with whom we work, and
those for whom we provide care.
- Deliver high-quality crisis intervention and seek appropriate support to assist in difficult or emergency
participant situations. Make immediate connections to emergency shelter or temporary housing to provide
safe options while individuals and families are on a pathway toward stability
- Make connections to stable housing with tailored services and supports of their choice, such as health and behavioral health care, transportation, access to benefits, and more.
- Perform warm handoffs to Young Adult Drop-in Services or to shelter, housing, and service providers (e.g. outreach staff may offer to physically accompany the individual to appointments to provide support).
- Be mindful of racial inequities and disparities among people experiencing homelessness and tailor and
customize their efforts to ensure that equity is being achieved within their outreach activities and
outcomes.
- Utilize problem-solving techniques to identify strengths and existing support networks, explore possible
safe housing options outside the homelessness service system, such as reunification with family, and
connect the individual to community support and services.
4. Key Responsibility: The Specialist must accurately record and maintain participant data and statistics including but not limited to demographics, outcome measures, goals, face-to-face notes, medical information, collateral contact and grant-specific requirements, and maintain all participant records to ensure accuracy, confidentiality and security in a timely manner.
- Document all street outreach contacts and housing placements in and obtain the appropriate licensure to
access Service Point: Homeless Management Information System.
- Review and complete incident reports as required. Ensure confidentiality in participant information is
always maintained. Ensure that intake and exit procedures are thoroughly conducted in a timely manner,
including any relevant program record keeping programs, Service Point HMIS documentation and other
agency requires paperwork. Appropriate program forms pertinent to client information and confidentiality
are organized, as complete as possible, and secure.
- Actively engaged with programming and department matters, supporting other staff when crises arise.
- Attend and are actively engage in required agency meetings, such as all-staff and department meetings,
and attend and are actively engaged in required training. Always carry a cell phone when on duty or when on-call. Respond to issues in a timely and professional manner.
- Complete other duties as assigned.
Qualifications:
1. Knowledge, skills, and abilities consistent with a degree in human services related field, or minimum three years related experience.
2. Demonstrated knowledge and ability to establish & maintain effective working relationships with area services, community partners, and resources.
3. Commitment to operating within a trauma-informed workplace and community that demonstrates a balance of kindness, competence and care toward self, colleagues, and populations served. Ability to assess and respond responsible in a wide variety of situations and crises.
4. Minimum of one-year direct care experience with persons with mental illness, homelessness, or disabilities.
5. Proficiency in Windows based computer environment and Microsoft Office.
6. Good written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, organizational and time management skills.
7. Ability to work independently, prioritize multiple tasks, and be flexible in job duties & schedule.
8. Possess a valid driver's license and reliable transportation to get to and from work shifts and can tolerate extreme weather conditions.
9. Other related duties.
This position is a full-time, benefit-eligible position.
Pay: From $18.00 per hour
Benefits:
- Flexible schedule
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Professional development assistance
Work Location: In person
