Shelter Coordinator - Day Shift in Seattle, Washington at Downtown Emergency Service Center

Days Off: Wednesday, Thursday

Shift: Day (7:30am - 4:00pm)

Insurance Benefits: Medical (no premiums/payroll deductions for employee coverage), Dental, Life, Long-term Disability

Other Benefits: Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Flexible Spending Account (FSA), ORCA card subsidy, Paid Time Off (34 days per year), Retirement Plan

Union Representation: This position is a part of a union and is represented by SEIU Healthcare 1199NW.

About DESC:

Recognized nationally as an innovator and leader in developing solutions to homelessness, DESC is a social services organization, supportive housing operator, and licensed behavioral health treatment provider focused on meeting the needs of people experiencing long-term homelessness and living with complex behavioral health and other medical conditions. Approximately 3,000 people are actively receiving services from DESC at any given point in time. Our vision is a community where all people are shown compassion, treated with dignity, and everyone has a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home.

DESC operates five shelter/emergency housing programs, 19 permanent supportive housing facilities with over 1,750 units, several hundred additional scattered site apartments, and a range of behavioral health services including outpatient mental health and substance use disorder treatment, residential crisis stabilization, street outreach, mobile crisis response, and treatment for opioid use disorder.

About West Wing Shelter:

Since we opened in 1979, DESC has operated emergency shelter for the most vulnerable men and women experiencing homelessness in our community. Unlike traditional shelter systems, DESC incorporates harm reduction principles into all of our work, meaning we ensure we are providing shelter to those who are most in need, not the most willing to simply meet program requirements. Using this model, DESC has partnered with King County to repurpose an unused portion of the King County Jail into a low barrier shelter for men and women experiencing homelessness.

JOB DEFINITION:

We are looking for energized and passionate Shelter Coordinators to manage basic day-to-day operations in the West Wing Shelter. Coordinators are tasked delivering these critical survival services as part of a large team, all of whom are committed to serving our most vulnerable citizens.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Maintain order and communicate/enforce agency rules, site rules and policies.
• Intervene in client crises (medical, mental health, interpersonal).
• Initiate and maintain appropriate social interactions with clients.
• Monitor dorms, bathrooms and dayrooms to maintain safety and security of clients and premises.
• Consult with other staff and/or outside agencies as needed regarding client issues and needs.
• Provide information on social/health services and procedures (in-agency and outside agency) to clients. If you are unsure, direct to CM or PM
• Refer clients needing more extensive services to specialized program staff or to outside services, when appropriate.
• Work with and support community volunteers, case managers, mental health providers, and all other providers.
• Actively participate in staff meetings and in-service trainings.
• Assist with the preparation, organization, serving and cleanup of food service scheduled during shift.
• Maintain order and cleanliness of work area, including stocking supplies.
• Recruit and supervise client volunteers for regular volunteer tasks.
• Work scheduled hours at shelter stations and/or milieu coverage and perform all duties of those areas.
• Monitor and ensure the return of all towels, blankets and other DESC property issued to clients.
• Register clients and document services provided during shift hours, in accordance with established procedures.
• Monitor day rest clients.
• Assist with shift transition, makes sure shift tasks are complete, conduct an end of shift walk through.
• Observe client behaviors in the area surrounding the shelter, and intervene when necessary to discourage loitering, fighting, use or sale of drugs and alcohol, and other uncivil or illegal behaviors.
• Provide assistance to homeless people and others who are experiencing crises caused by mental illness and/or excessive drug/alcohol consumption.
• Provide information about and referral to other services available in the community to homeless people and others in need.
• Other duties as assigned.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Basic understanding of homelessness and various characteristics of homeless adult populations.
• Ability to communicate and work effectively with staff from various backgrounds and disciplines.
• Ability to work effectively with clients displaying a wide range of unpleasant and/or bizarre behavior.
• Subscribe to philosophy of cooperation and continuity across programs, and of consideration and respect for clients.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience with the challenges of mental illness and substance use.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee will be required to sit, communicate with other employees, required to lift and carry items weighing up to 40 pounds and to operate computer hardware systems. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER:

DESC is committed to diversity in the workplace and promotes equal employment opportunities for all staff members and applicants. The Agency will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, caste, marital status, or the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability in any employment practice, unless based on a bona fide occupational qualification. Minorities and veterans are encouraged to apply.