Job Description

Covenant House California (CHC) is a nonprofit organization that provides sanctuary and support for youth overcoming homelessness, ages 18-24. CHC believes that no young person deserves to be homeless; that every young person in California deserves housing, food, clothing, education, and most importantly, to be loved. CHC provides a full continuum of services to meet the physical, emotional, educational, vocational, and spiritual well-being of young people.

CHC’s doors are open to youth and staff regardless of their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. We believe that youth and team members deserve to be in an environment that is inclusive and affirming; where everyone is treated with dignity and respect and valued and appreciated for who they are. Maintaining a diverse community of youth and staff is key to our ability to achieve our mission most effectively. We are also committed to being a leader in advancing anti-racism, and to promoting opportunities for the free expression of the lived experiences of our youth and staff.

We are looking for people who, like us, believe that every young person deserves a place to belong. We think it takes all kinds of people to create diverse solutions to end youth homelessness and we are on a committed journey to build an inclusive and equitable work culture that brings out the best in everyone. In our  Oakland location, which has been operating since 2005, we offer a full continuum of housing and support services to young people. Our program is continuing to grow and will be adding 20 new beds for young people over the next year.

As this position provides direct care to young people that are 18-24 years old, we require that applicants are at least 25 years old.

Covenant House California offers an excellent benefits package, (most benefits effective date of hire), including medical, vision, dental, an EAP program, 403b retirement account, and a generous vacation package.

POSITION SUMMARY:

Under the supervision of the Norcal SVP, the YHDP Housing Navigator will work to assist youth experiencing homelessness (ages 18-24), in obtaining and maintaining housing in the community through the Program. This new partnership in each of our communities is a state-wide effort to align the fact that ‘housing is healthcare’ and a human right. The new position of YHDP Housing Navigator will be part of creating an outreach intervention that supports young people experiencing homelessness get connected and have support to navigate/problem-solve their experience and ultimately get housed quickly. This includes brokering relationships with local property owners and management companies, marketing and packaging the program and the youth in a manner that appeals to the property owners and management companies. There is also heavy relational and case management like services such as mentoring, coaching, behavioral support, education and employment referral, transportation, and resource and benefits navigation to address the overall needs of each youth. This is a new position, so this Housing Navigator staff member needs to be flexible, creative, responsive and curious on how to implement and meet the expectations of the funder and our young people.

Essential Functions:

1. Outreach and engage with new young people that are matched through the system to our age group and housing instability criteria. This includes phone contact, emails, texting, going out to meet a young person where they are.
2. Match participants with Housing Transition Navigation (HN) services, including housing opportunities; help them build relationships within the community to ensure positive and beneficial placements and outcomes.
3. Assist in connecting participants to supportive services such as mental health, health, substance abuse, employment, and education both at Covenant House California and with external service providers; provide linkage to mainstream resources, such as SNAP, DPSS, Social Security, and Medi-Cal; act as liaison for those resources.
4. Accurate document services, responsible for enrolling young people/referrals into the system for benefits; this will include completion of forms, compliance, timely submission into database. When required, this will also include complete data entry into HMIS and ETO, preparing monthly reports for the QA team and Finance team as requested.
5. Participate in any meetings, trainings and community connection opportunities as indicated. When appropriate, support with onboarding new case managers to understand and refer youth appropriately into services.
6. Utilizing Housing First principles to help youth currently experiencing homelessness and those who formerly experienced homelessness obtain, move into, and keep their homes;
7. Providing supportive services to housed consumers enrolled in housing tenancy and sustaining services (TSS) in accordance with the DHCS Policy Guide;
8. Once young people are housed, provide early interventions and support when housing issues arise, and continue providing support to all program participants regarding housing concerns and housing rights;

CLASSIFICATION: Non-Exempt, 40 hours per week

SALARY RANGE: $22.50/hour

JOB REQUIREMENTS:

EDUCATION: Bachelor’s Degree preferred in field related to Social Services or relevant field. Equivalent work experience and training will be considered.

EXPERIENCE: Must have 2-3 years’ experience providing direct services to high-risk youth including counseling and advocacy; because of the nature of this position, experience with real estate, rental properties and or sales a bonus.

SKILLS:

• Working knowledge of Housing First model, Trauma Informed Care, principles of harm reduction and positive youth development.
• Sensitive to the needs of young people experiencing homelessness and human trafficking and strong desire to serve CHC’s mission and the young people that come through our doors.
• Strong computer skills and knowledge including word processing, spreadsheets, and database operations, Preferred experience with HMIS and ETO a plus.
• Knowledge of adolescent development, case management, and crisis intervention.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, public speaking skills and comfort in representing CHC in the community.
• Must be able to work independently as well as part of the interdisciplinary team, property owners/managers, vendors and the public.
• Bi-lingual English/Spanish strongly preferred.

TRANSPORTATION: Must have and maintain a valid California driver’s license and a good driving record; must be able to ability to drive CHC vehicles.

WORKING CONDITIONS: General business/office environment. Must be able to lift up to 40 lbs. on occasion, bend, sit, and stand for prolonged periods of time. Some weekend/holiday work may be required.

SUPERVISORY: The position is supervised by the Norcal SVP and does not have any direct reports.

Covenant House California is an equal opportunity employer.

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