Housing Case Manager

About Us:

Aunt Leah’s Place is a non-profit organization that helps prevent children in foster care from becoming homeless and mothers in need from losing custody of their children. To support youth on their journey to self-sufficiency, we provide supported housing, job training, and coaching on essential life skills.

The Opportunity:

If you are passionate about helping youth reach their housing goals, Aunt Leah’s has an opportunity for you! You’ll work with all of Aunt Leah’s programs to ensure wrap-around supports are in place for youth in and from care as they connect to work opportunities. If you are a natural connector and a big picture thinker, this role will suit you.

Aunt Leah’s is growing – come and join our team in this exciting time as we enhance our programs!
Bring your creativity and energy and be a part of this wonderful phase for our Link Housing program.

We Offer: 

• A comprehensive benefits package that includes: Extended Health Care including Vision Care and Dental Care, and prescription coverage
• A generous Vacation and Personal Time package
• RRSP Matching
• Casual Dresscode
• Employee Discount at our Thrift Store

Job Summary: The Housing Case Manager primarily supports youth who are in and from foster care and mothers in need. The Housing Case Manager is responsible for the following functions of the Link Program:

• Case Management and ensuring participants are accessing housing supports they are eligible for within Aunt Leah’s Programming as well as within the larger community
• Coordinating integration of various interventions and building seamless housing transitions between programs
• Partnership development and effective resource tapping
• Establishing strong partnerships and resource lists with external emergency housing supports in order to provide meaningful referrals
• Completing Aunt Leah’s reporting, including Reaching Home, BC Housing, and other housing- related reports, with the support of the Link Program Coordinator

Reports To: Link Program Coordinator

Qualifications:

• Post-secondary degree or diploma in child and youth care, social services, or related field
• Minimum 2 to 3 years’ experience working with multi-barrier youth and or mothers in need
• Minimum of 2 years’ experience in the child welfare system and/or within the housing sector
• Strengths-based and trauma-informed case-management style
• Experience with data management systems and reporting is an asset
• Demonstrate effective person-centered case management skills in working with multiple housing barriers, such as addiction, mental health, and trauma
• Deep understanding around colonization and its implications on the child welfare system and influence on housing

Requirements:

• Satisfactory Criminal Record Check (including vulnerable persons) and Local Police Information Check
• Ability to work flexible hours, including occasional evenings and weekends
• Naloxone training
• Standard First Aid
• MCFD clearance

Assets:

• Non-violent crisis intervention training
• A valid BC driver’s license, access to a vehicle with $5M in business liability insurance, and clean driver’s abstract would be an asset
• Mental Health First Aid

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities (KSA):

• Ability to act, engage and support youth through a trauma-informed lens, or be willing to learn
• Ability to establish collaboration and work collaboratively with internal teams and external partners
• Ability to identify barriers to housing and appropriately address them
• Ability to work closely with participants to facilitate sustainable housing, obtain/maintain housing, training, and/or education
• Ability to coordinate with multiple stakeholders to ensure youth are set up long term for housing success
• Ability to work collaboratively with the Link Coordinator and other Aunt Leah’s staff to incorporate and facilitate youth to access housing opportunities and training opportunities
• Excellent organizational and time management skills, including the ability to manage high caseloads
• Motivational Interviewing skills and its application
• Excellent administrative skills including database management
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office suite
• Superior communication skills
• Knowledge of Housing First approach and six principles
• Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Case Management Essential Functions:

• Provide oversight on all case planning with the Link team and other Program Coordinators
• Complete an eligibility assessment upon intake to determine the level of homelessness as well as priority level to determine the focus of work
• Liaise and engage with community members and potential landlords providing housing for Aunt Leah’s participants
• Use effective communication skills, build trust and rapport and maintain effective working relationships with participants to allow for the transfer of required information, and promote a cooperative and productive work environment
• Conduct information and orientation sessions for participants accessing services
• Enter all documentation required in the case management system (OTIS) to open and maintain participant files
• Evaluate participant’s eligibility for programs and services and advocate for financial supports, if necessary, for participants
• Interview participants and identify strengths, barriers, interests, skills, and suitability
• Refer participants to other programs and services as required and provide information regarding available community resources for a wide variety of personal, situational, and health-related issues
• Develop realistic (housing) action plans with participants
• Assist participants with application process and achievement of successful housing outcome
• Negotiate and determine participant financial supports, commitments, payment schedules, compliance, repayment terms and conditions on service agreements
• Provide effective case management in support of housing search and connect participants to appropriate department/program for financial support where applicable
• Engage in case meetings and report on unusual, complex, demanding cases immediately
• Review and refer to Aunt Leah’s Place’s policy guidelines in all service delivery
• Assess participants readiness and feasibility for long term housing and implement interventions that support long term housing
• Create emergency housing response plan based on participants’ needs
• Participate in creating housing assessment and response strategies as well as relevant policies and procedures
• Design and delivery of a targeted customized program based on key performance measures
• Attend and actively participate in staff meetings, coaching sessions, and performance evaluations process; outcomes reporting, positively interact and support all participants and team members
• Liaise and network with external agencies, professional and project partners and consult on case management issues
• Adhere to all program and agency policies and procedures
• Keep abreast of housing market information, current community resources and interventions, and federal and provincial government-sponsored programs, funding sources, and housing opportunities
• Complete intakes for the Link team and designate case management to Link Drop-In and Outreach staff, with direction from Link Program Coordinator as needed
• Monitor and update Link Program intake spreadsheet for new participants
• Complete monthly Reaching Home activity reports and BC Housing reports, with direction from the Link Coordinator

Embrace the six principles of Housing First

1*. Rapid access to housing with supports:*

• Support participants with finding and securing permanent housing as rapidly as possible
• Develop relationships with potential landlords to provide market housing for chronic or episodically homeless youth
• Understand that housing readiness is not a requirement to secure housing

2*. Offering participants’ choice in housing:*

• Provide choice in terms of housing options as well as the services participants wish to access
• Use of motivational interviewing (Collaboration, Evocation, and Autonomy)
• Develop a collaborative relationship that encourages the youth to state their preferences

3*. Separating housing provision from other services:*

• Understand that acceptance of any services, including treatment, or sobriety, is not a requirement for accessing or maintaining housing

4*. Providing tenancy rights and responsibilities:*

• Educate participants on tenancy rights and responsibilities, in accordance with the Residential Tenancy Act
• Support participants with landlord relationships and advocacy within the public and private sectors

5*. Integrating housing into the community:*

• Understand that, in order to respond participant choice, minimize stigma and encourage client social integration, more attention should be given to scattered-site housing in the public or private rental markets

6*. Strength-based and promoting self-sufficiency:*

• Provide case planning to facilitate participants’ self-determined goals towards independence and self-sufficiency
• Collaborate with internal and external life skills, education, employment, mental and physical health, and housing services
• Ensure participants goals and preferences are in the service agreement

Working Conditions:

• This position may require working occasional evenings and weekends and travel to various locations within Metro Vancouver
• Works primarily in an office setting with some remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Hours of work – 37.5 hours a week (7.5 hours a day); generally Monday to Friday
• On-call as scheduled on the on-call roster

COVID-19 Vaccination Policy: As of January 4, 2022, Aunt Leah’s Place has implemented a COVID-19 Vaccination policy. Aunt Leah’s Place strongly encourages all employees to be fully vaccinated (2 doses) for COVID-19. Rather than a mandatory vaccine policy, we are implementing a voluntary disclosure of vaccination. Employees will fill out a “voluntary disclosure” form indicating their vaccination status. Employees that do not wish to voluntarily disclose their vaccination status will be considered unvaccinated for operational planning purposes. The voluntary disclosure form will be included in the hiring process.

Living Wage Employer: As a certified living wage employer, we are committed to compensating our employees a living wage that allows working families to support the healthy development of their children and participate in the social, civic and cultural lives of their communities. Embracing a living wage policy aligns with our Strategic Goals and provides our staff a great place to work!