What are the responsibilities and job description for the Support Specialist position at Alameda Point Collaborative, Inc.?
Alameda Point Collaborative works to end homelessness by providing housing and services to create communities where formerly homeless families and individuals can flourish.
Do you want to break the cycle of homelessness?
Alameda Point Collaborative is the largest supportive housing community in Alameda County, serving formerly unhoused individuals and families. Our mission is to end homelessness by providing housing and services to create communities where formerly homeless families and individuals can flourish. Our 500 residents live in permanent housing on the former naval base with access to wraparound supportive services to help maintain stable housing.
About You and the Role
You are a creative and enthusiastic person who is passionate about supporting underserved communities. You thrive in a collaborative environment, working to find creative approaches to help the residents maintain their housing and address whatever problems they identify. You are experienced in creating service plans to help vulnerable populations achieve their goals. You are enthusiastic about leading individual and group activities that support a strong and vibrant resident community.
- Within one month, you will engage with the residents, Employment Services, Children & Youth, and social enterprise teams to learn about the APC community and its range of services. You’ll also receive your certification for the County’s Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and pass their confidentiality training.
- Within three months, you will have met with all the families in your caseload and started creating service plans.
- Within six months, you will have created service plans for every interested resident. You will identify and lead group activities that support a vibrant community.
What You'll Do
- Outreach, engage, and build supportive partnerships with a caseload of APC residents/families.
- Engage new residents and complete new resident orientation, enrollment activities, and documentation.
- Partner with each family to complete and implement a service plan focused on the resident’s understanding of the problems they want to address and their goals.
- Identify and broker additional resources as needed.
- Provide life skills and supportive counseling to address barriers to progress.
- Complete annual HMIS assessments of all household members.
- Actively participate as a member of the APC services team to achieve successful program and service outcomes.
- Developing services, resources, and referrals for residents to meet service needs.
- Facilitate and teach functional life skills or educational workshops or groups.
- Actively support the planning and implementation of community building and community leadership events and programs.
What You'll Bring
- B.A. degree in social work, psychology, or related field, or equivalent experience.
- Two years experience in social services providing direct services to individuals or families who have been homeless, disabled, or socially/economically disenfranchised.
- Familiarity with harm reduction and motivational interviewing tools while working with substance abuse, mental health, and/or co-occurring issues is highly desired.
- Positive history of maintaining confidentiality and managing personal boundaries in a social service, housing, or residential environment.
What Else You Need to Know
At APC, we believe we meet our mission by recruiting, training, and retaining a diverse workforce representing the community we serve at all job levels. Over 50% of APC’s employees have lived experience with homelessness. This experience, along with our employees' many other skills and talents, strengthens our work. APC strives to recruit a racially and ethnically diverse workforce. We aim to provide a workplace for everyone and where everyone’s voice is heard.
Alameda Point Collaborative provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment. It prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.
