Care Coordinator Whatcom Housing Services

Position Title: Care Coordinator - Whatcom Housing Services

Location: Whatcom County

Reports to: Director of Whatcom Housing Services

Hours: 40 hours per week, non-exempt position

Wage Range: $22.63 - $25.22

Members of underrepresented populations are encouraged to apply.

Mission: At Northwest Youth Services, we affirm youth experience and autonomy, as we work together to foster collective healing and justice, in order to dismantle the systems of oppression that perpetuate youth homelessness.

Core Values:

Community – We promote interdependence and recognize that everybody needs a community to thrive. We know that we are stronger together.

Justice & Liberation - We believe that it is critical to acknowledge, name, and actively work to dismantle the historic systems and societal structures that fuel crisis and poverty.

Humanity - We work with respect and compassion for each other and believe that everyone deserves to belong: to be safe, heard, and valued.

Accountability – We believe that no one is done learning; as a community we hold each other to a high standard, and work to educate, grow and heal together.

Vision: Guided by our core values and commitment to becoming an Anti-Racist organization, Northwest Youth Services envisions a community in which all young people are seen as catalysts in creating a just and liberated society that supports each of our unique journeys through life.

Job Mission

The Housing Case Manager position contributes to NWYS’ success by engaging with youth directly and creating connections with the Whatcom County community to promote access to services youth need in order to become self-sufficient.

This position contributes to NWYS’ success by interacting with youth using a Positive Youth Development Approach, and empowering youth to reach their goals.

The person who fills this position has a strong working knowledge of how social service systems operate, their limitations and advocacy needed, and possesses the empathy required to understand and relate to individuals who work within this field and the young people who interact with it.

Core Competencies

To perform job successfully, the individual should demonstrate the following competencies:

Sensitivity: Communicates empathy and respect of individuals; ability to be appreciative of diversity.

Conflict Management: Effectively manages disagreements.

Change Agility: Able to embrace needed change; able to provide and implement feedback; effective in the face of ambiguity.

Youth Orientation: Actively seeks feedback from youth; establishes effective relationships with youth; knowledgeable about issues facing homeless youth and an understanding of the experiences they are going through.

Integrity: Must be honest and take responsibility for actions; ability to set healthy limits and maintain the helping role of practitioner.

Positive Impact: Have a passion for NWYS’ mission and vision; a belief in the capacity for a young person to change; displays a positive, attitude.

Learning Agility: Seeks to improve knowledge, skills, and abilities in related service areas; implement core principles and evidence-based practices including, but not limited to: Positive Youth Development, Trauma Informed Care, De-escalation, and Youth Mental Health First Aid.

Creativity: Resourceful in finding ways to improve and advocate for change when necessary; fosters creativity in others.

Active Listening: Ability to effectively work independently and in partnership with team members; ability to communicate effectively with youth and others.

Key Responsibilities

Youth Programs:

• Provide services to a caseload of 12-16 young adults and/or 15-20 hours of face-to-face time every week to assist in meeting service goals for youth seeking and living in scattered site/independent living units with a strength-based approach and lens of youth’s inherent worth regardless of societal definitions.
• Build high-quality relationships with youth participants; create space for the impacts of homelessness and validate the challenges that come with transition into housing. Partner with youth to meet immediate and ongoing physical, social, and emotional needs.
• Partner with youth and NWYS staff to seek, obtain, and maintain housing opportunities including NWYS supported temporary or Transitional Housing, Rapid Rehousing, Section 8 and other long term housing subsidy vouchers, or other grant supported resources, family or community resources, or other independent living.
• Provide tenancy support to maintain stable housing; coordinate with appropriate resources depending on housing needs and unit safety/habitability support standards to meet lease and funder requirements.
• Meet with youth regularly in their apartments; regular check ins required for NWYS leased units. Regular home visits encouraged for independent lease holders to support housing stability. Maintain flexibility to meet at youth’s preferred location (apartment, office, or other location).
• Support youth understanding and utilizing their lease agreement as a supportive tool; encourage youth to bring their voice in collaborative plans and process improvements through current and created channels of engagement.
• Assist in transporting youth as it relates to their identified goals; examples include but are not limited to medical appointments, DSHS, job interviews, and grocery store trips.
• Assist youth in communication with roommates, neighbors, and landlords; collaborate to build effective partnership supports building-wide and in community as appropriate.
• Assist youth with move ins and move outs; encourage youth to utilize any natural supports and troubleshoot the need to move heavier items such as beds, couches, and other apartment items. Be available to help carry things in and out.
• Utilize NWYS 15 passenger van as appropriate and necessary.
• Follow unit turnover procedure including deep cleaning, garbage removal, refurnishing, submitting workorders, etc. to ensure unit is inspection ready and appropriate for new youth arrival.
• Provide life skills training including but not limited to areas of hygiene, house chores, communication, budgeting, and exploration of healthy coping mechanisms.
• Engage with youth in identifying and creating a culture of supportive community.
• Engage youth in pregnancy, parenting and safe sex communication and knowledge.
• Attendance at NWYS Housing team weekly meetings and supervisory meetings bringing current youth updates and insights into successes, gaps and needs, as well as creative and innovative ideas and solutions in partnership with youth.
• Collaboration of care with the NWYS housing team, mental health, chemical dependency, and behavioral health counselors, medical support, agency partners, and community resources.
• Daily practices, interactions, and ongoing learning with youth and staff grounded in evidence-based practices that are tailored specifically to each youth’s needs and in the context of their specific housing program. This includes but is not limited to: Strengths-Based approaches, Trauma Informed Care, Healing Centered Education/Healing Collective Trauma, Equity Diversity and Inclusion, Positive Youth Development, Harm Reduction, De-escalation as a pathway of empowerment and humanization, Restorative (and Transformative) Justice, Housing First, and robust wrap-around services.
• Coordinate safety planning and crisis response of youth when needed.
• Integrate Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion work as the center of all programming and interaction.
• Work with youth on employment, income, and benefits goals; coordinate with NWYS Education & Employment team as determined by program and youth’s needs.
• Attend relevant Agency meetings and all other activities identified as necessary.
• Keep Housing Management and team informed of issues and concerns related to youth.
• Provide follow-up and aftercare services as needed.
• Accurately document relevant youth information and activities according to program standards, including timely intake and exit paperwork, recertifications, and additional subsidy requests.
• Participate in program evaluation efforts, give input for grant reporting and improvement of data collection processes specific to working with youth populations in scattered site units.
• Maintain current case notes on each program participant.
• Contribute to a learning culture with youth, staff, agency, and community including but not limited to youth mentorship, cross-department, intern, and new employee job shadowing and participating in these opportunities as appropriate to role.
• Work with supervisor to create opportunities for input, innovative, and proactive approaches and systems improvement in workgroups and agency/interagency collaboration meetings.
• Collaborate with supervisor and Housing team on time management, self-care, and sustainable work practices, be willing to assist team members and accept help as appropriate to need.
• Attend training as appropriate to professional development and as required by program.
• Contribute to a strong team working knowledge of social service systems operation, their limitations and advocacy needed.
• Maintain knowledge of current program policies and procedures; and
• Other duties as assigned.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 75 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, and depth perception. While performing these job duties, the employee is regularly required to listen to others and provide verbal feedback. The employee is required to frequently sit for extended periods of time, stand, walk, climb, or balance.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience working with young people in crisis.
• Demonstrated experience working with people experiencing homelessness.
• A minimum of:

o one year experience working with young adults ages 18-24 or

o one year experience working with people experiencing homelessness or

o one year experience working as a Case Manager or

o two years’ experience working with other vulnerable populations or

o a post-secondary education that demonstrates acquired knowledge applicable to this position.

• Must be 21 years of age or older;
• Proof of Washington State Driver’s License, driving record, and auto insurance; and
• Must pass background checks.

Required within first 30 days of employment:

• CPR/First Aid/Bloodborne pathogens certifications required;
• Must have a negative TB test; and
• Full understanding of the CPS reporting requirements.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Lived experience,
• Post-Secondary Education in Human Services or related field,
• Demonstrated experience working in housing services or advocacy,
• Spanish, Russian, or ASL speakers preferred; and
• Previous training in de-escalation, Housing First, Harm Reduction, Positive Youth Development, CSEC, Domestic Violence, Mental Health First Aid, or other related trainings.

Benefits

• Earn paid time off based on hours worked;
• Medical, vision, and dental insurance benefits begin first of the month following date of hire (positions at or above 0.75 FTE);
• Voluntary life, critical illness, supplemental vision, long term disability, and accident insurance eligibility begins first of the month following date of hire (positions at or above 0.75 FTE);
• Simple IRA Retirement plan with match up to 3% of employee contributions, per pay period, after first year of employment;
• Annual Healing Fund stipend
• Juneteenth and Indigenous Peoples Day paid holidays;
• The position is located in beautiful Whatcom County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest

Northwest Youth Services is an Equal Opportunity employer. Employment is based upon individual qualifications without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, citizenship, age, marital status, veteran status, disabilities, political ideology, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected status.