The Housing Locator assists Supportive Services for programs' clients in locating housing consistent with program guidelines in a time-sensitive manner. Housing Locators enable families and veterans experiencing homelessness to transition out of homelessness more rapidly and evade shelter living, thereby creating flow in the availability of shelter space in Cuyahoga County's men, women, and family shelters.
ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS Provides solutions and helps clients overcome housing barriers by identifying housing quickly, typically in a 30-day time period or less. Develops and works to maintain relationships with landlords in the community by networking and searching for housing through websites, periodicals and in communities. Promotes ESG, SSVF, and EDEN longer-term subsidy programs. Inspects units using HQS (Housing Quality Standards) to meet program guidelines. Conducts orientation interview with ESG or SSVF clients. Transports clients to view potential units as needed. Emails, calls, and meets weekly with housing location team and program partners to give updates on the status of caseload's housing location, troubleshoot challenges, and discuss program and EDEN, Inc. developments and general information. Collaborates closely with client's case managers to coordinate client's housing search Reviews client documents in OnBase and obtains missing information from documents to ensure paperwork is processed in a time-sensitive manner and are in compliance with program guidelines. Communicates by email, text and phone to improve efficiency while working in the community. Submits paperwork for processing within one business day of completion. Advocates for clients to stay at shelter when facing discharge or for clients to keep rental assistance when facing termination from program, when necessary. Maintains current awareness of new developments in the field by establishing personal networks, reading professional literature and attending conferences and seminars. Coordinates with the Finance Department to ensure landlords receive rental payments in a timely manner. Occasionally refers to the HQS Inspections Department to make sure inspection standards are consistent agency-wide. Substitutes for other Housing Locators as necessary or provides assistance when needs exceed fellow housing locator's availability. Provides housing location expertise to external and internal colleagues Completes Rent Reasonableness test on all units. This is applicable only to the SSVF Housing Locator. Contributes to team efforts by assisting with other duties, as assigned. A high school diploma or equivalent and three years of experience in homeless and housing services are required. A Bachelor's Degree is preferred.
A valid Ohio driver's license with good driving record and proof of insurance is required.
A reliable personal vehicle for transportation to be utilized for work purposes is required.
Certification in Housing Quality Standards (HQS) is preferred (once hired, the employee is required to complete and pass certification requirements).
Equal employment opportunity in full compliance with applicable law will be provided to all persons without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or other characteristics protected by law.
EDEN's primary goal is to transition people from housing crisis to housing stability. We believe our vision to end housing insecurity and homelessness in Northeast Ohio can only be achieved when we embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion as both agency values and practices.
