Neighborhood Coordinator - Burien Supportive Housing

Days Off: Saturday, Sunday

Shift: Office Day

Insurance Benefits: Dental, Life, Long-term Disability, Medical

Other Benefits: Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Flexible Spending Account (FSA), ORCA card subsidy, Paid Time Off (34 days per year), Retirement Plan

About DESC:

DESC (Downtown Emergency Service Center) is a nonprofit organization working to help people with the complex needs of homelessness, substance use disorders, and serious mental illness achieve their highest potential for health and well-being through comprehensive services, treatment, and housing. Our vision is a community where no person is abandoned, ignored, or experiencing homelessness.

As the region's leading provider of services to multiply disabled adults who have experienced chronic homelessness, DESC serves almost 2,000 people each day. Our integrated service model is designed to help people secure and maintain appropriate, safe and affordable housing. DESC is recognized nationally and regionally as an innovator in developing solutions to homelessness.

Burien Permanent Supportive Housing:

DESC's newest housing site in Burien will include 95 studio units of affordable housing with supportive services and indoor/outdoor community spaces for tenants, sing adult who are disabled and have been experiencing homelessness. Twenty-five of the units will be used to house veterans experiencing homelessness.

Job Details:

We are looking for an energetic and dynamic Neighborhood Coordinator to join our Permanent Supportive Housing location, Burien Permanent Supportive Housing. In this role, you will work alongside other building staff to build relationships with our clients, other service providers, and other residents in the neighborhood. This position is highly independent, requiring creative thinking, excellent interpersonal relationships, and strong conflict resolution skills. If you are interested in providing critical survival services as part of a large team committed to serving our most vulnerable neighbors, then this is the role for you!

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Build rapport with clients, partnering service providers, and nearby businesses and residents to develop community cohesion between the Burien PSH and our neighbors, and to help alleviate any safety concerns neighbors may have due to Burien PSH's presence.
• Build relationships with nearby neighbors and businesses who may not be familiar or comfortable with DESC’s clientele. This may include, but is not limited to, providing education about this population, offering empathetic listening, and helping address any non-emergent problems that may arise between our clients and other members of the community.
• Develop successful working relationships with law enforcement, fire department, and other emergency personnel to ensure that client needs are met, and that emergency services are being utilized appropriately.
• Promptly respond to neighbors’ issues and concerns about the Inn to help reduce the number of 911 calls made regarding our clients.
• Take point on calling or coordinating calls to 911 when emergency situations do arise. Coordinate with and direct emergency responders to situations that require immediate attention.
• Strengthen partnerships with outside entities working within our building by offering additional staff oversight during their events and programming.
• Engage with and develop ongoing relationship with clients
• Provide engagement with clients who are using non-DESC services inside Burien PSH.
• Proactively outreach and engage with people who are camping or staying outside on the streets of the neighborhood to connect them to services.
• Maintain the safety and security of clients and premises by proactively canvassing around the building premises and communicating/enforcing agency rules and policies.
• De-escalate client arguments and altercations on building premises.
• Ensure that clients understand DESC’s Good Neighbor policy. Intervene to enforce and remind clients of the policy when necessary. Document and communicate repeated violations of the policy for the client’s care team to follow up on.
• Take a lead role in coordinating team meetings and care conferences related to neighbor relationships and/or clients struggling to follow our Good Neighbor policy. Provide support to single, vulnerable, and/or disabled clients experiencing homelessness and crises caused by behavioral health and/or substance use disorders.
• Initiate, model, and maintain appropriate social interactions with clients. Encourage appropriate social interactions between clients.
• Discourage and report predatory and/or illicit behaviors.
• Act collaboratively with staff and clients to improve the safety and cleanliness of the building premise. Actively participate in staff meetings and in-service trainings.
• Other responsibilities as assigned.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• At least one-year experience in human services (paid or volunteer), preferably working with adults. challenged by homelessness, mental illness and/or Substance Use Disorder (SUD)
• Basic understanding of homelessness and various characteristics of homeless adult populations.
• Ability to communicate and work effectively with staff from various backgrounds and disciplines.
• Ability to work effectively with clients displaying a wide range of unpleasant and/or bizarre behavior.
• Subscribe to philosophy of cooperation and continuity across programs, and of consideration and respect for clients.
• Commitment to the harm reduction model and to incorporating harm reduction into all aspects of the position.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience in security or milieu management.
• Experience with mental illness and/or Substance Use Disorder (SUD).

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee will be required to sit, communicate with other employees, required to lift and carry items weighing up to 40 pounds and to operate computer hardware systems. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER:

DESC is committed to diversity in the workplace, and promotes equal employment opportunities for all staff members and applicants. The Agency will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, caste, marital status, or the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability in any employment practice, unless based on a bona fide occupational qualification. Minorities and veterans are encouraged to apply.