Street Outreach Specialist

LOCATION: Owens Campus

STATUS: FT/40hrs/wk/Non-Exempt

MISSION STATEMENT: The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its ministry is motivated by love for God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and meet human needs in his name without discrimination.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in Social Work or related discipline. Related employment experience and demonstrated education in the field may be substituted for degree requirements on a 2:1 ratio.
• Experience working with homeless population.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Demonstrate a positive attitude, with ability to communicate & work with people of diverse backgrounds, circumstances, including staff, residents and community partners.
• Able to maintain a non-judgmental attitude, professional approach and boundaries with clients.
• Able to handle crisis/emergency services for the homeless and to utilize crisis intervention & conflict resolution skills.
• Ability to assess at-risk participants and situations.
• Ability to maintain strict confidentiality.
• Successful background clearance
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Software (Word, Excel, etc.)
• Ability to create and run reports.
• Must have a valid Nevada Driver's License, a clean driving record.
• Must successfully pass Decision Driving courses provided by The Salvation Army
• Ability to pass a criminal background check.
• Ability to manage Coordinated Entry / Assessment
• Knowledge of SOAR training
• Knowledge of Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS)
• Strong interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work with homeless individuals during the process of obtaining and stabilizing in housing.
• Knowledge of area resources for the homeless.
• Ability to work independently as well as with others.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Conduct outreach activities, including visits to facilities such as shelters, treatment programs, dining facilities and other locations where homeless and at-risk families may congregate.
• Provide direct case management services to homeless.
• Provides supportive counseling and referrals for shelter, housing, and resources
• Learn and maintain knowledge of community employment agencies and procedures, along with modifications to those procedures.
• Engaging with, interviewing and assessing individuals and families uniformly for service referral.
• Utilizing a community wide data system to enter clients Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS), confirm activities from other services providers, create community reports, and verify eligibility.
• Attend all scheduled team meetings and trainings.
• Other duties and special projects as assigned.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

The position is 90% outdoors and in some very dark and small places, i.e. tunnels, bridges and remote locations where the homeless may be living. Additionally, teams will NOT be accompanied by law enforcement or security officers.

Qualified individuals must be able to perform the essential duties of the position with or without accommodation. A qualified person with a disability may request a modification or adjustment to the job or work environment in order to meet the physical requirements of the position. The Salvation Army will attempt to satisfy requests as long as the accommodation needed is reasonable and no undue hardship would result.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to walk, stand, climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, crawl and reach with hands and arms on a continuous basis. Must be able to communicate to clients, vendors and coworkers. Must be able to hear well enough to drive a vehicle.

The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 20 pounds, frequently lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, depth perception and ability to focus. The employee must have the ability to operate a telephone, desktop/laptop computer, as well as the ability to access and produce information from a computer, knowledgeable of Microsoft Office, other programs assigned and the ability to understand written information.