Neighborhood Engagement Coordinator

DESC (Downtown Emergency Service Center); Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 83,000 - 92,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Dental

Life insurance

Long-term disability

Medical with no employee premium

EAP

FSA

ORCA card subsidy

Paid Time Off

Retirement Plan

Job summary

DESC (Downtown Emergency Service Center) seeks a Neighborhood Engagement Coordinator to strengthen ties between shelter sites and surrounding communities in Seattle. You will work closely with front-line staff, clients, and partners to improve safety, civility, and access to services across five DESC locations.

This role requires independent work, strong interpersonal skills, and a commitment to harm reduction.

Qualifications

• At least one year of experience in human services, preferably with adults experiencing homelessness or related challenges.
• Basic understanding of homelessness and related populations.
• Ability to communicate effectively with staff from diverse backgrounds.
• Ability to handle difficult situations with calm and professionalism.
• Commitment to harm reduction principles in service delivery.

Responsibilities

• Build rapport with clients, neighbors, and service providers to foster community cohesion across DESC sites.
• Develop relationships with nearby businesses and residents to address safety concerns and educate about DESC.
• Coordinate with law enforcement and emergency personnel to meet client needs and ensure appropriate use of emergency services.
• Respond promptly to neighbor concerns to reduce avoidable 911 calls and coordinate with emergency responders when needed.
• Lead and participate in meetings to support neighbors and clients, and enforce Good Neighbor policies.

Skills

Human services experience

Homelessness knowledge

Communication skills

De-escalation

Harm reduction

Job description

Job Type

Full-time

Description

Days Off: Saturday, Sunday

Shift: Office Day (9am - 5pm)

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

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.

Locations: This position will split time amongst these 5 sites.

• DESC's Clement Place (937 N 96th St, Seattle, WA 98103)
• DESC's Aurora House (10507 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA 98133)
• DESC’s North Star (924 N 143rd St, Seattle, WA 98133)
• DESC’s Burbridge (8610 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103)
• DESC's Mary Pilgrim Inn (14115 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA 98133)

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.

JOB DEFINITION

The Neighborhood Engagement Coordinator works alongside front-line staff to build relationships with our clients, other service providers, and other residents in the neighborhood. This position is highly independent, requiring creative thinking, excellent interpersonal relationships, and strong conflict resolution skills.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Build rapport with clients, partnering service providers, and nearby businesses and residents to develop community cohesion between Clement Place/Aurora House/Burbridge/MPI/North Star and our neighbors, and to help alleviate any safety concerns neighbors may have due to Permanent Supportive Housing presence.
• Build relationships with nearby neighbors and businesses who may not be familiar or comfortable with DESC’s clientele. This may include - but is not limited to - providing education about this population, offering empathetic listening, and helping address any non-emergent problems that may arise between our clients and other members of the community.
• Develop successful working relationships with law enforcement, fire department, and other emergency personnel to ensure that client needs are met, and that emergency services are being utilized appropriately.
• Promptly respond to neighbors’ issues and concerns about Clement Place/Aurora House/Burbridge/MPI/North Star to help reduce the number of 911 calls made regarding our clients.
• Take point on calling or coordinating calls to 911 when emergency situations do arise. Coordinate with and direct emergency responders to situations that require immediate attention.
• Strengthen partnerships with outside entities working within our building by offering additional staff oversight during their events and programming.
• Engage with and develop ongoing relationships with clients.
• Provide engagement with clients who are using non-DESC services inside Clement Place/Aurora House/Burbridge/MPI/North Star.
• Proactively outreach and engage with people who are camping or staying outside on the streets of the neighborhood to connect them to services.
• Maintain the safety and security of clients and premises by proactively canvassing around the building premises and communicating/enforcing agency rules and policies.
• De-escalate client arguments and altercations on building premises.
• Ensure that clients understand DESC’s Good Neighbor policy. Intervene to enforce and remind clients of the policy when necessary. Document and communicate repeated violations of the policy for the client’s care team to follow up on.
• Take a lead role in coordinating team meetings and care conferences related to neighbor relationships and/or clients struggling to follow our Good Neighbor policy. Provide support to single, vulnerable, and/or disabled clients experiencing homelessness and crises caused by behavioral health and/or substance use disorders.
• Initiate, model, and maintain appropriate social interactions with clients. Encourage appropriate social interactions between clients.
• Discourage and report predatory and/or illicit behaviors.
• Act collaboratively with staff and clients to improve the safety and cleanliness of the building premises. Actively participate in staff meetings and in-service training.
• Other responsibilities as assigned.

Requirements

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• At least one year of experience in human services (paid or volunteer), preferably working with adults. challenged by homelessness, mental illness and/or substance use disorder (SUD).
• 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.
• Commitment to the harm reduction model and to incorporating harm reduction into all aspects of the position.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience in security or milieu management.
• Experience with mental illness and/or substance use disorder (SUD).

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 accommodation 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, stand on their feet for long periods of time, 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.

Salary Description

$83,304.00 - $91,974.24 annually