Homelessness Prevention Specialist

Homelessness Prevention Specialist

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT 
Sacred Heart Community Service, located in San José, CA, is looking for Full-time

Homelessness Prevention Specialist to join the Homelessness Prevention System 

(HPS) Network Coordination Team. The Homelessness Prevention Specialist will assist in outreach, intake, and coordination of the HPS program to provide assistance to households at-risk of homelessness. This individual must be highly organized, possess an ability to work flexibly and creatively, and have a passion for our mission – to change lives and impact poverty. For more than 60 years, SHCS has been one of the leading institutions in addressing poverty in Santa Clara County through a strategy that combines meeting basic needs, offering tools for self-sufficiency, and engaging the wider community to be involved. 

POSITION SUMMARY: 
Sacred Heart Community Service is the lead agency for the HPS and facilitates collaboration among the participating partner agencies. The Homelessness Prevention Specialist will coordinate efforts to connect families and individuals at risk of homelessness throughout Santa Clara County to the HPS program. They will spearhead collaborative efforts among all partner agencies to provide outreach and screening to at-risk people across the county. The Homelessness Prevention Specialist will help assess and provide services to households seeking eviction prevention through the Housing Collaborative Court, a partnership between SHCS and Law Foundation. They will coordinate outreach efforts, represent SHCS and the HPS Network Coordination Team at events and in the field, conduct direct outreach, and conduct eligibility assessments at SHCS and in the field. 

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES: 
HPS Network Support (75%-85%) 

• Conducts outreach to schools, courts, health care systems, community partners, and other systems and institutions that interact with low-income families at-risk of homelessness. 

• Provides remote and on-site eligibility screening, conducts assessments, and intake support for SHCS and HPS partner agencies. 

• Develops and nurtures collaborative relationships with community partners, including schools and the court system. 

• Spearheads eviction prevention services within the Housing Collaborative Court partnership with Law Foundation. 

• Processes financial assistance for partner agencies. 

• Conducts HPAT assessments and accompanying releases of information and HMIS intake paperwork. 

• Provides information and referrals to other resources in the community. 

• Provides a warm hand-off of eviction prevention cases that need ongoing support to Case Managers in the Family Assistance department at Sacred Heart Community Service. 

Administrative (10%-15%) 

• Completes all required assessment and intake paperwork. 

• Maintains records of all outreach activities and contacts.

• Enters releases of information, assessments, intakes, and financial assistance into the Clarity HMIS software and Salesforce database. 

• Maintains outreach calendar. 

Team Support & Leadership (5%-10%) 

•          Engages and develops program volunteers, including training, supervising, and supporting volunteers and interns.

•          Engages program members, including connecting people to organizing committees, conducting 1:1s, and assessing and implementing community engagement opportunities with volunteers and people receiving housing assistance. 

•          Supports the planning and implementation of agency-wide programs, events, and outreach efforts.

•          Supports the planning of and attends staff meetings, retreats, and other team and agency events. 

•          Performs other d