Location: Little Tokyo Service Center Office
Compensation: $24-$27/hour depending on experience
Hours: Full-Time, Regular, Non-exempt position with benefits
Supervisor: Director of Homeless Services
Background:
For over 40 years, Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC) has provided a safety net of social welfare and community development services to empower people and communities in need. LTSC provides culturally and linguistically appropriate services to the Japanese American community in the Southland, builds multi-family affordable housing projects to uplift low-income neighborhoods of color throughout Los Angeles, and promotes equitable development and cultural preservation in the Little Tokyo neighborhood.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin or disability.
Summary of Duties:
As an ICMS Case Manager, your primary responsibility is to provide daily case management support to your assigned caseload, which will be made up of individuals experiencing homelessness. These individuals may be living on the street, in vehicles, or in shelters. As an ICMS Case Manager, you'll build strong, trusting relationships with often extremely vulnerable participants, using a person-centered approach that includes motivational interviewing and harm reduction, to support your clients to obtain permanent housing. In this role, you may be responsible for providing case management to individuals with severe mental health diagnoses, substance use disorders, and complex trauma. The ideal candidate for this role is an empathetic, compassionate individual with a passion for social justice, and someone who is looking to be part of the solution to end homelessness.
Responsibilities Include:
Provide case management and other related services to individuals experiencing homelessness.
- Develop meaningful, trusting relationships with vulnerable clients, promoting their well-being and stability, providing a sense of care and community, and connecting them to essential services
- Serve as the primary point of contact for a caseload of no more than 20 individuals
- Provide a range of ICMS case management services, regularly checking on clients' well-being and connecting them to necessary resources, including obtaining vital records, referrals to additional services (mental health, medical, legal aid), accompany clients to appointments, applying for benefits, completing housing applications and paperwork, etc.
- Utilize a trauma-informed approach to provide supportive, holistic care to clients
- Advocate on behalf of clients to support their referrals to interim, transitional, and permanent housing
- Obtain a working knowledge of the homeless service system
- Write and submit documentation/case notes in a timely manner, using an electronic records database
- Identify service gaps and collaborate with community partners to ensure clients receive the full scope of necessary services
- Attend staff meetings, training sessions, and retreats to ensure team synergy and stay updated on changes
- Maintain effective communication with management, staff, collaborators, and participants
Contribute to the day-to-day operations of the Homeless Services Division and LTSC as a whole.
- Identify and outreach to community members, particularly those experiencing homelessness
- Advocate for the needs and concerns of individuals experiencing homelessness
- Research resources, information and data for services, presentations, reports
- Interpret and translate information and documents as assigned by supervisor
- Contribute to the ongoing learning of staff by sharing information and training
- Assist with coordinating and/or facilitating staff meetings
- Take active participation in other duties, as deemed necessary, as an employee of the Homeless Services Division and LTSC
- Support activities that advance the mission of the organization and create positive change for people and places
- Other duties as may be assigned by your supervisor
- Execution of some of the above duties may require driving or use of public transportation to provide services at satellite office or in the field.
Qualifications, Experience, and Skills:
- Experience in providing case management or outreach services to vulnerable populations (both professional and/or volunteer experience is sufficient)
- General understanding of homelessness as a social justice issue
- Any equivalent combination of education, experience, or training that has prepared you for the role
- Proficiency in computer applications, including word processing, spreadsheets, and internet research
- Strong organizational and planning skills
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills for building relationships
- Strong record-keeping skills for tracking metrics and participation
Equivalent education or experience can be substituted for all minimum qualifications, except when legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration, are required.
