Careers

Description:

LOCATION: Based in South King County, currently at the YWCA Renton office but will need to travel throughout King County and to the Snohomish County YWCA Everett office and throughout Snohomish County when needed.

DESCRIPTION: The Supportive Services Veterans Families (SSVF) Health Care Navigator/Social Security Disability Specialist will work closely with Homeless and Formerly Homeless Veterans and their Families, and is part of the YWCA’s Specialized and Integrated Services Division. The SSVF Healthcare Navigator works closely with Veterans to assist them in communicating their preferences in care and personal health-related goals to facilitate shared decision making of the Veterans and families and helps identify appropriate and credible resources and support tailored to the needs and desires of the Veteran. 

In addition to healthcare navigation services, SSVF Healthcare Navigator/Social Security Disability Specialist will identify and engage with current and previously homeless families to assist them in obtaining SSI/SSDI benefits. This will require working with medical and mental health care providers as well as working with various service providers in the community to help navigate and fill out the required documents to apply for SSI/SSDI. 

This position assists in connecting families to supportive services and healthcare services to help ensure success in permanent housing. This position requires the SSVF Health Care Navigator/Social Security Disability Specialist to conduct assessments on all veterans enrolled within the program. This requires working with SSVF team to ensure that they are part of the enrollment process for all clients brought into the SSVF program. In addition, this position will be expected to respond to crisis situations which could result in loss of permanent housing if not resolved.

This position is based in Snohomish County, currently at the YWCA Everett office, but will need to travel throughout Snohomish County and the King County YWCA SSVF team currently located at the YWCA Renton office as well as throughout King County. 

This position has a social justice component that requires critical thinking through the lens of racism and intersections with poverty. Knowing the core principles of antiracism and grounding those principles of antiracism and grounding these principles in everyday work are required job skills and core values. As an equal opportunity employer, we encourage people of color to apply.

In accordance with COVID-19 safety practices, YWCA has a COVID-19 Vaccination Policy and all new hires need to be fully vaccinated when at least two weeks have passed after the employee received:

A second dose in a two-dose vaccine series, such as Pfizer or Moderna vaccines; or
A single-dosed vaccine, such as the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

Responsibilities:

• Conduct Healthcare assessments upon enrollment into the SSVF program.
• Understand the VA healthcare system.
• Understand the medical health system outside of the VA.
• Build relationships within the medical, mental, and treatment centers both within the VA and outside of the VA.
• Knowledgeable of rehabilitation centers and be able to navigate veterans to these services.
• Ensure veterans are reminded of their healthcare appointments.
• Connect veterans to mental health professionals within the VA and outside of the VA.
•  Create a contact list of all medical, mental health, and treatment centers.
• Provide outreach throughout King County and Snohomish County to locate, identify, engage and refer homeless and formerly homeless veterans and their families to veterans benefits and services as well as other available health and human services.·
• Provide links to housing and housing stability resources.
• Work in collaboration with other social service providers in the community.
• Assess the strengths and challenges of the client family and assist family in developing housing stability goals and individual goal plans and action steps.
• Provide or ensure provision of life skills training and support when needed.
• Provide referral and connection to supportive services, such as chemical dependency treatment, mental health counseling, domestic violence advocacy, etc.
• Conduct home visits to ensure housing stability.
• Accurately and thoroughly document performance of all of the tasks above.
• Meet regularly with SSVF team to help ensure success for the families and the program.
• Attend meetings with human service providers and other public functions as related to the SSVF program.
• Help with administrative support of the program through regular reporting and record keeping as directed.
• Show demonstrated ability to interact with people of different cultures and promote social justice.
• Work with referral sources and community partners to identify applicants who need to file SSI/SSDI claims
• Complete interviews with individuals to gather information to complete SSI/SSDI applications
• Gather medical records and other information to complete SSI/SSDI applications
• Write SOAR Medical Summary Reports for individual applications
• Accompany individuals to appointments at the Social Security Administration
• Coordinate visits to medical doctors, psychiatrists, and other specialists to obtain evidence for the application.
• Coordinate case management services with partners and help with providing case management services to individuals when needed
• Assist the team with administrative tasks as needed
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications & Core Competencies:

• BA in social services or related field and/or a minimum three years’ experience working with low-income individuals and families and or persons with disabilities, with a strong focus on supportive services and healthcare navigation for Veterans.
• Ability and willingness to work as part of team and independently.
• Values diversity and provides culturally competent services.
• Knowledge and experience in providing services to Veterans.
• Good oral and written communication skills and organizational and record keeping skills.
• Experience with crises intervention and case management.
• Experience working with homeless families/individuals
• Knowledge of family dynamics.
• Experience working with persons who have chemical dependency and mental health issues.
• Experience with working multiple healthcare systems including the VA.
• Knowledge of and experience working with persons who have experienced domestic violence.
• Knowledge of housing resources in King County, Landlord/Tenant Laws and Fair Housing Regulations in Seattle and King County and Snohomish County.
• Must be able to travel independently throughout King and Snohomish County.
• Ability to perform Data Entry in HMIS database.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Ability to prioritize multiple tasks and meet frequent deadlines.
• Superior organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Computer experience, including troubleshooting and problem solving and proficiency in MS Office applications (Word, Excel) and database management.
• Good writing skills and ability to create written case notes with accuracy.
• Ability to maintain professional boundaries and engagement skills with a challenging population in non-traditional work conditions.