Job Title: Housing Stabilization Specialist (four positions) 

Why work at MCCAC? 

Mid-Columbia Community Action Council (MCCAC), located in heart of the beautiful Columbia River Gorge, serves  Hood River, Wasco and Sherman Counties. MCCAC offers programs and services to ensure our most vulnerable  community members have access to healthy, safe, stable and affordable housing. This is accomplished through our  housing, energy/utility payment assistance and weatherization programs. MCCAC’s mission is to build a better  future for our community through partnership and equity-centered programs that prevent and eliminate poverty and  houselessness. MCCAC housing assistance programs promote stability and racial equity through advocacy,  empowerment, financial and tenant education, employment and skill building, and coordination of supports and  services which enable households to improve their economic and housing stability. 

Job Purpose: 

Housing Stabilization Specialists play a key role in working to promote stabilization and safety for guests of  MCCAC’s Navigation Center “Annex”—a transitional shelter and housing site focused on supporting houseless  people to achieve the self-sufficiency necessary to secure permanent housing and stabilize there long-term.  In addition to maintaining the day-to-day operations of The Annex site and supporting guests to follow program  guidelines, Housing Stabilization Specialists collaborate with guests through peer support, community and  mainstream resource navigation, and housing casework to help them transition to permanent housing. This is accomplished through partnership with outreach and housing service providers, culturally specific organizations, and  community-based organizations to ensure that individuals and families experiencing houselessness have access to  the wraparound resources needed to regain and maintain housing stability. Housing Stabilization Specialists play an  especially important role in building trusting, mutually respectful relationships with guests at The Annex. By doing  so, Housing Stabilization Specialists are well positioned to inform guests about services that may help them  stabilize, and to motivate guests to pursue a wide range of resources available to them. Examples of resources  could include those related to behavioral health, transportation, education and job skill-building, health care  insurance, affordable child care, or substance abuse treatment/recovery. Housing Stabilization Specialists are also  empowered to convene support groups or plan group activities among guests and to build individual rapport with  guests to promote greater emotional health, wellness and resilience during challenges. 

Duties, Tasks, and Responsibilities: 

Operations and Administration 

Housing Stabilization Specialists work designated shifts at The Annex site throughout the week (see final page of  this document for more info on each of the four shift schedules), during which they: 

• Assist with initial guest intake and assessments 

• Follow crisis response protocols and document incidents on-site 

• Maintain knowledge of and practice current CDC and other health authority guidelines to ensure the health  and safety of guests and staff 

• Support guests to follow guest agreements, appropriately address scenarios when guidelines aren’t followed • Conduct health and safety inspections of units 

• Assist with other site operations as needed such as by managing supplies, coordinating delivery of meals,  supervising scheduled group activities, supporting the Regional Shelter Operations Manager to carry out  mandatory group meetings with guests living on-site, etc.  

Supportive Services and Housing Casework 

Each Housing Stabilization Specialist will conduct the following types of activities with Annex guests.  Specialists may have designated “caseloads,” the size and scope of which may differ depending on their background and areas of expertise, the current roster and needs of Annex guests, and other considerations. • Build rapport and trusting, supportive relationships 

• Conduct housing stabilization casework using a Housing First Approach and motivational interviewing,  trauma-informed, harm reduction, and culturally competent skills to support guests to build on strengths  and develop housing stabilization plans according to those strengths

• Assist shelter guests with linkage to basic needs resources such as food boxes and hygiene supplies • Assist shelter guests to learn about and access available community resources that will promote guests’ housing stability and increase household income; this includes but is not limited to MCCAC’s housing  stabilization assistance programs and mainstream and community resources such as housing  vouchers, Medicaid, Social Security benefits, tuition and student support services, behavioral health  and substance abuse recovery supports, etc.  

• Help coordinate services from culturally specific and responsive service providers for guests staying at the  Annex who are enrolled in or eligible for programs offered by these providers  

• Approach housing casework using a Housing First approach and available rapid rehousing and other  housing stabilization resources  

• Assist in connecting clients with job applications as requested and employment related resources 

Data and Compliance 

• Enter client specific data into the Homeless Management Information System database system as needed for tracking and reporting purposes 

• Utilize referral and case management platforms as needed to ensure effective connections to community  and mainstream resources for guests  

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: 

• Skills, knowledge and demonstrated abilities in areas of emergency shelter services, housing services,  street outreach, client advocacy, equity and racial justice, and/or homeless services delivery  • Good oral and written communication skills 

• Organized, accurate and concise with attention to detail 

• Well developed team-building and problem-solving skills 

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office platforms and ability/willingness to use other technological platforms for data,  documentation, scheduling, and virtual meeting purposes  

• Lived experience accessing one or more services that the position requires one to provide to Annex Guests,  such as being a past or present consumer of mental health or substance abuse services with a history of  managing one’s own condition; past or present experience being a parent to a child with unique needs; past  or present experience managing a physical health condition; experience navigating community resources  with a culturally specific or responsive lens  

• Familiarity with or willingness to learn community resources in the Mid-Columbia region • Certified as or willingness to become certified as a Traditional Health Worker according to Oregon Health  Authority standards (Peer, Community Health Worker, etc.)  

• Personal traits including patience, tolerance, caring, maturity, and understanding  

• Bilingual in English/Spanish a plus (see info below about additional compensation for bilingual candidates)  

Qualifications: 

• Minimum of High School diploma or GED equivalent required.  

• Experience in homeless or social service programs or lived experience navigating such programs 

Position Details: 

• This position is rated as active with frequent kneeling, stooping, bending, and sitting, regularly requires the  individual to lift 30 pounds 

• The duties outlined in this job description are not all inclusive and additional duties and tasks may be assigned • MCCAC is an equal employment opportunity provider.  

• Location: The Dalles 

• Fair Labor Standards Classification: Full-Time (40 hours per week during set shift schedule), Exempt • Reports to: Regional Shelter Operations Manager 

Salary and Benefits Information 

• $42,800-$46,711 annual starting salary, depending on qualifications and experience o Plus 3% bilingual differential for successful bilingual candidates 

• Benefits: Blue Cross medical insurance with the agency covering 90% for employees and dependents.  Dental and vision coverage. Life insurance, 401k, paid vacation and sick leave. 

To Apply 

Email resume and cover letter to Rob Mendoza at rmendoza@mccac.com. Priority deadline May 5th, 2023.