SEASONAL Direct Support Staff Per Diem

Direct Support Staff (Per Diem/Seasonal)

FLSA Status: Non-Exempt

Type: Per Diem

Salary: $20.00 per hour

Position Summary

IPH’s Safe Haven Code Blue Winter Facility in Albany, NY, serves individuals experiencing homelessness along with a broad range of other challenges, including poverty, mental health and substance use disorders, medical challenges, and legal issues.

IPH is currently accepting resumes for Per Diem, Seasonal Direct Support Staff for our Safe Haven winter shelter. Safe Haven provides a low-barrier, low-demand environment for adults experiencing homelessness who have no other options for shelter and would otherwise be staying on the street. Safe Haven’s harm reduction approach ensures the most vulnerable members of the community have a safe, supportive place to sleep and be out of the elements, regardless of substance use/active addictions, mental illness, medication adherence, or other challenges that often limit shelter options.

Direct Support Staff are responsible for maintaining an emotionally and physically safe and supportive environment for shelter guests, ensuring they have access to basic accommodations and services.

Shifts include: 4:30 pm - 12:30 am and 12:30 am – 8:30 am, from late October through early April. Including Holidays.

Principle Responsibilities, Accountabilities, & Duties:

Interacting with Guests

• Actively contribute to an emotionally and physically welcoming, safe, and supportive environment for shelter guests
• Conduct safety checks using handheld wands to detect prohibited items on individuals, ensuring compliance with safety protocols.
• Engage guests using active listening, empathy, and patience
• Provide information about shelter services and communicate shelter expectations
• Provide information regarding community-based services
• Support guests with independent daily living skills such as making beds, cleaning, and laundry
• Manage interpersonal conflicts and misunderstandings between guests
• Implement de-escalation and crisis intervention techniques, and respond effectively to emergency situations
• Provide information about shelter services and communicate shelter expectations
• Maintain professional boundaries
• Maintain strict confidentiality in all areas written, spoken, and observed communication

Providing Access to Shelter Services

• Facilitate the admission process each evening
• Serve meals and snacks for guests
• Distribute needed items to shelter guests, including cots, linens, hygiene products, laundry, and showers
• Set up/break down/distribute cots, linens, and other supplies
• Label and store guests’ belongings in secure storage room and provide access to belongings as needed
• Supervise use of secure laundry room and laundry machines
• Connect guests with case management services or other resources, as requested

Oversight of Shelter Facility

• Accept after-hours referrals to the shelter by phone and facilitate the admission process for new shelter guests, including completing intake paperwork
• Collaborate professionally with Albany County Department of Social Services (DSS), Homeless & Travelers Aid Society (HATAS), and other community organizations regarding after-hours referrals
• Complete intakes and discharges on a nightly basis along with required documentation, including Shift Notes, Incident Reports, and Hourly Rounds forms. Ensure data is entered accurately into the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) portal.
• Communicate any after-hours guest needs to the Safe Haven Lead/Supervisor
• Provide support and a welcoming environment to community volunteers and donors
• Maintain a neat and clean environment by sweeping and mopping, dusting and wiping down surfaces, cleaning and organizing linens, emptying trash cans, and keeping storage areas tidy
• Use Universal Precautions to prevent contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials
• Ensure the security and safety of the building and shelter guests by completing rounds every thirty-five to forty-five minutes and adjusting round frequency based on the number of shelter guests present, and concerning needs, monitoring entrances, common and sleeping areas, and the smoking and yard areas, and answering the doorbell
• Rounds require navigating staircases to the basement and second floors. The building is not equipped with a lift/elevator
• Ensure the dining area and dishes are cleaned following dinner service
• Ensure entrances are kept free of snow, ice, and other hazardous conditions, as needed

Professional Development

• Participate in required Staff Trainings, including First Aid, CPR, and Naloxone
• Participate in Onboarding Training
• Participate in regular meetings with the Safe Haven Lead, program staff meetings, and agency staff meetings
• Use the On Call system for support as needed

Physical Requirements

This work requires the following physical activities: climbing, bending, stooping, kneeling, twisting, reaching, sitting, standing, walking, lifting up to 20 lbs., finger dexterity, grasping, repetitive motions, talking, hearing, and visual acuity.

Qualifications

• Experience in a human service setting and/or experience with the homeless population preferred
• Sensitive to the needs of the homeless community
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Basic familiarity with Microsoft Office Suite, including Outlook, Excel, and Word
• Reliable transportation
• Ability to lift 30lbs
• Ability to safely navigate stairs multiple times throughout each shift
• Ability to respond quickly, efficiently, and safely to crisis situations

IPH provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

Job Type: Part-time

Pay: $20.00 per hour

Benefits:

• Paid orientation

Work Location: In person

Salary : $20