Care Navigator, PACT Program for Potrero Hill Terrace and Annex (PTA)

Shanti is a San Francisco based non-profit that builds human connections to reduce isolation and improve quality of life.

OUR HISTORY: Dr. Charles Garfield founded the Shanti Project (Shanti) in 1974 as a young psychologist working on UCSF’s oncology unit. It was there that he became aware of the profound isolation and loneliness experienced by so many of his patients as they faced a short life span. He resolved that no one should have to experience a life-threatening illness alone. And so, he began to train volunteers to provide sophisticated emotional and practical support while listening deeply, with compassion, to the stories and needs of people facing serious illness and death. This was the beginning of San Francisco Bay Area’s Shanti Project, one of the first organizations in the world to train lay volunteers to treat what mainstream medicine does not and cannot treat - isolation and loneliness.

POSITION SUMMARY: Shanti is seeking a compassionate individual who is committed to racial equity and justice to provide on-site support to residents of Potrero Hill Terrace and Annex (PTA) in San Francisco, toward the goal of greater housing stability, community engagement, healing and connectedness. PTA is one of four HOPE SF public housing sites that is being redeveloped into a mixed-income community with on-site health and wellness supports through innovative city and community-based collaborative partnerships and programming. The care navigator is a highly visible, mobile, field-based, accessible staff person whose primary duties will be to provide emotional and practical support to residents of Potrero Hill. 

PRIMARY DUTIES:

• Build trusted relationships with Potrero Hill residents
• Increasing housing stability through tailored eviction prevention and advocacy services
• Prepare residents for upcoming renovations: provide up-to-date information, help them get their files and vital documents in order, and help them transition into their new units
• Identify and address barriers residents face to accessing reliable health and social services
• Advocate for resident needs, escalating issues to Director and community partners as necessary
• Provide residents with on-going emotional and practical support
• Build trusted working relationships with San Francisco Housing Authority staff, HOPESF staff, Potrero project development partners (BRIDGE Housing, Eugene Burger Management) and local community health and social service partners
• Participate in community activities, some of which may take place evenings or weekends
• Input program-related units of service, activities and progress notes in appropriate databases according to program expectations
• Participate in weekly supervision, case conferencing, internal and collaborative team meetings, and trainings
• Support a caseload of approximately 40-60 households (actual number of cases will vary.) Residential support will encompass varying degrees of need ranging from Low Touch (LT), Medium Touch (MT), and High Touch (HT)
• Model and promote collaboration, compassion, positivity, and a commitment to race equity in all activities
• Other duties as assigned

SECONDARY DUTIES:

• Facilitate/co-facilitate Shanti Peer Support Trainings, groups, workshops, and meetings
• Participate in Agency-wide program and staff development activities
• Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATION/REQUIREMENT: We seek highly qualified candidates with as many of the following areas of knowledge, ability, skills and experience as possible:

• Knowledge of and commitment to trauma-informed care and race equity
• 2 years of direct service experience within programs serving low-income communities or degree in social work or related field.
• Experience living or providing services within public housing settings
• Personal and professional understanding of issues related to living in public housing, including generational trauma, social and political marginalization
• Strong interpersonal, written and oral communication skills
• Meticulous documentation practices
• Highly collaborative and relational: values team cohesion and positivity
• Sensitivity to diverse communities, including but not limited to issues of poverty, homelessness, mental illness, substance use, sexual orientation, gender, language, spirituality, and culture
• Bilingual Spanish preferred but not required
• Must be vaccinated for COVID-19 or willing to test weekly

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: 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 accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to navigate and travel around the city of San Francisco using public transportation and be comfortable walking up hills or standing for extended periods. The employee is required to communicate regularly orally and in writing. The employee is required to use a computer and smart phone to regularly input program data, schedule appointments, and communicate with Shanti staff, Potrero Hill residents, and community partners.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY: Shanti is an equal opportunity employer that supports and lives diversity in our staffing and values. Shanti complies with applicable federal, state, and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. We actively encourage and seek qualified candidates from people of all backgrounds. We also will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.