Prevention Specialist

Path Home empowers families with children to get back into housing and to stay there. Our programs work: 87% of families keep their housing long term. Programs include Outreach, Family Village Shelter, Rapid Re-Housing, Prevention, and Basic Income Guarantee. Annually, Path Home provides culturally responsive, trauma-informed services to more than 550 families.

Path Home believes that intentional, systematic racism and oppression are primary causes of homelessness, and we are working to dismantle systems of oppression within our own organization and the community as a whole. We serve a very diverse group of families, and our goal is to have a staff that reflects the diversity of our families.

Organization: Path Home

Job Title: Prevention Specialist

Reports to: Stability Program Manager

Job Specifics: Full time at 40 hours per week, salary

Compensation: $54,000 annually or $56,000 annually if bilingual in English and Spanish

Benefits: Full health and vision insurance (Providence) and dental insurance (Moda). Option to add dependents at employee's pre-tax expense. Path Home will contribute an amount equal to 2% of employee's total annual salary into a Simple IRA. Eligible for Employee Assistance Fund and paid Sabbatical after 7 years.

Paid Time Off: Three weeks of Paid Time Off (120 hours) plus one week of Paid Sick Time (40 hours) annually. Path Home also recognizes 11 paid holidays throughout the year.

Close Date: Open until filled. First application review date is Tuesday, September 24, 2024.

Path Home values diversity in its workforce and is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds to apply for this position, including people of color, people with disabilities, immigrants, people with lived experience, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and people with criminal backgrounds.

Overview:

The Prevention Specialist plays a key role in Path Home's Homeless Prevention Program, working to support families with children who are at risk of losing their housing and preventing them from experiencing homelessness . This position works with families to identify what is needed to stabilize their housing and provide financial assistance to avoid eviction. Additionally, this role will provide light touch-case management to help families meet their goals and needs, offering navigation to other resources where appropriate.

The Prevention Specialist works as a member of the Path Home Housing team. They will work closely with Path Home's other Navigators, Housing Specialists and Retention workers. They will be expected to work in the field with families as needed. This requires familiarity with the geography of Portland. Each Specialist works general business hours and sometimes needs to work evenings or weekends to meet client needs.

Specific Job Duties:

• Screen applicants to the program to determine if they qualify for Path Home's Prevention program providing support and assistance through the application process; in collaboration with the Housing Team, determine which service pathway best fits their needs and situation.
• Upon enrolling families in the Prevention program, provide one-time or short-term financial support to families, working with them to determine the best use of funding available to them. Offer quick, flexible financial intervention to avoid eviction or other adverse action.
• Work with landlords to negotiate workable solutions to arrears and other risks to families' tenancy.
• Manage a yearly and monthly budget with emphasis on balancing two, sometimes opposing needs; the need to provide meaningful assistance to each individual family and the need to provide support to as many families as possible.
• Provide Light-touch case management, continuing support to promote housing stabilization. Help each family create goals they want to work on and have regular check-ins with families to work towards their goals, as well as offer resource navigation to help families access the services they need.
• Offer tenant advocacy for families and negotiate payment plans and other solutions with landlords.
• Provide skill building and basic education in landlord-tenant rights and responsibilities; basic budgeting assistance and financial literacy; and economic empowerment education.
• Build and maintain constructive, collaborative relationships with landlords, social service agencies, businesses, and neighborhood organizations.
• Continually seek out possible resources and tools that may provide added stability to families.
• Emphasize a strength-based approach as Path Home supports families in their efforts to stay housed.
• Maintain timely and accurate records which reflect services provided. Record data in the Apricot Database and HMIS system on a regular basis, maintaining data accuracy and quality.
• Maintain and track budget for individual families and across the program as a whole each month and for the fiscal year.
• Record and keep track of all expenses, client assistance, rent, etc. that are spent on behalf of clients; report these expenses twice monthly to the Finance team.
• Weekly check-in meetings with supervisor to review case load.
• Work effectively with a diverse team of Path Home staff.
• Participate in team building, staff meetings, and organizational functions.

Skills and Abilities:

• Experience working with people and/or families who are experiencing housing insecurity; outreach and local Portland social service knowledge is a plus.
• Comfort navigating and working within ambiguity.
• Strong organizational skills; ability to track and report information and data to meet internal needs and funder requirements.
• Experience working in a setting that promotes the following is helpful, but not necessary: Housing First & Rapid Re-housing, Strengths-based service delivery, Assertive Engagement, Client-centered services. If you do not have experience, we will provide training.
• Fluency in Spanish or other languages is a plus.

Minimum Qualifications:

• An understanding of the effects of trauma and how they impact homelessness and poverty.
• Demonstrated success building relationships and collaborative efforts with individuals and communities of diverse ethnicities, cultures, abilities, faiths, and economic backgrounds.
• Commitment to non-judgmental, non-violent, and holistic responses to those in need.
• Demonstrated success juggling multiple priorities and being able to multitask efficiently and effectively.
• Familiarity with computers and basic software use is required, including Microsoft Word, Excel, Google Drive, and Service Point.
• Because of the mobile nature of this job, the Prevention Specialist is required to have a personal vehicle, valid driver's license, and insurable driving record upon hire. Path Home reimburses for mileage at the standard IRS rate.

Additional Application Instructions

Send your resume and cover letter in .pdf format to [email protected] with your name and the job title, "Prevention Specialist," in the subject line. We do not accept calls, unless you are requesting a reasonable accommodation for a disability. To request a reasonable accommodation, please contact Angela McLemore at [email protected] or 971.378.2997.