Housing Retention Counselor

Evergreen Health

At Evergreen, we value collaborative, down-to-earth individuals and encourage self-expression. We recognize that our diverse workforce allows us to provide culturally competent care to everyone in our community.

The Housing Retention Counselor (HRC) provides independent living and retention counseling services to individuals receiving regular monthly assistance from the Housing Assistance Program. The position is responsible for assisting patients to move from homelessness into permanent housing. The Housing Retention Counselor assist all patients with intakes, assessments, move-in activities, manage financial assistance funds (security deposits, rent) and provide stabilization services (case management) to all patients in conjunction with community partners. The Housing Retention Counselor will also work towards developing and maintaining partnerships with community organizations and providers through outreach, collaboration, and education on our services.

As part of the Essential Functions for this role, the Housing Retention Counselor :

Provides service coordination throughout the team to ensure all patients maximize their access to supportive services

Conducts housing search, initial and annual inspections, and program-specific housing documents to support housing stability with the patient

Assists with securing services that maximize housing stability for patients : increase their ability to maintain their household and finances, independently perform activities of daily living, uphold the terms of their lease; prevent lease violations; intervene and mitigate crisis situations; maximize tenant safety and security; provide advocacy with landlords; and prevent avoidable evictions

Builds relationships with landlords in the community to more easily facilitate moves

Conducts monthly regular home visits for patients receiving housing subsidies and / or as indicated in service plan

Provides quality customer service through a Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) lens

Contributes to monthly reporting by providing status reports for service utilization and achievement of program indicators

Operates in a team approach to provide comprehensive support services addressing needs identified by patients

Contributes to the central intake and eligibility process by completing required documents to successfully enroll and retain eligible patients; completes reassessments as needed

Contributes to the completion and maintenance of centralized documents to ensure ongoing program requirements and eligibility (HRI, Core Indicator / Risk Assessment, SDOH Assessment, Rental Subsidy calculations, etc.)

Develops and implements patient-focused service plans to address and eliminate patient barriers to maintaining stable HIV care / treatment

Maintains timely data entry in Electronic Health Record, Medent, to reflect all services provided; this includes encounters, referrals, receipts, transportation logs, etc.

Attends meetings in our Buffalo office with our larger supportive services and housing teams as needed

Qualified Candidate will have a Bachelor’s degree in Human Services or related field and one (1) year of qualifying

• experience OR or Associate degree in Human Services or related field and two (2) years of qualifying
• experience. Qualifying
• experience equals professional case management or care coordination experience with the following populations : persons with a chronic illness, and / or persons with a history of mental illness, homelessness, or chemical dependence. Experience with families preferred. Candidate must have a valid NYS Driver’s License and an insured, dependable car. Candidate must be able to communicate clearly and professionally in writing and verbally, and possess organizational and time management skills.

Job Type : Full-time

Required Education : Bachelor’s (plus 1 year experience); Associates (plus 2 years experience) .

Required Experience : Case Management; Working with clients experiencing chronic illness, homelessness, mental illness and / or chemical dependence.

What Evergreen Health Offers You :

Multiple comprehensive medical health insurance plans for you to choose from

Dental and Vision coverage at no cost to you

Paid Time Off package that equals 4 weeks of time in your first year

403b with a generous company match

Paid parking or monthly metro pass

Professional development opportunities

Paid lunch breaks