Residential Specialist

Founded in 1980, Urban Resource Institute (URI) is the nation’s largest provider of domestic violence shelter and support services and a leading provider of housing and services for families experiencing homelessness. Across 24 shelters in New York City, URI provides safe housing for nearly 4,000 individuals and their pets every night and serves more than 40,000 people annually. 

URI’s work is grounded in survivor-centered, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive care. In addition to emergency and transitional housing, URI delivers a robust continuum of Justice Initiatives—including economic empowerment, legal education and advocacy, prevention and youth programming, and abusive partner intervention—designed to break cycles of violence, instability, and poverty. URI also develops permanent affordable and supportive housing, advancing long-term pathways to safety, healing, and stability for families and communities. 

The Residential Specialist is responsible for direct service provision to residents. Resident Specialist provides assistance and support to families with children residing in DHS facilities. In addition, successful candidates must have strong time management skills, be flexible and creative, and must be willing to support clients in a wide range of tasks and activities. Individual must demonstrate sensitivity to issues related homelessness.

• Support clients to complete their activities of daily living
• Work directly with individual to develop and achieve meaningful life goals
• Document information and assist in tracking data with logs and reports
• Maintain professional communication with other program staff
• Provide support and direct care to clients, and help to maintain a safe and clean living/working environment
• Transporting clients to activities and appointments
• Maintaining a safe and secure facility;
• Attend Staff meetings and trainings as requested;
• Responding to requests from residents;
• Meet regularly w/ team;
• Understanding and following emergency procedures, including fire procedures;
• Sorting and organizing donations of food, clothing, etc;
• Conducting room checks as needed;
• Assisting with intake procedures as directed;
• Distributing household supplies;
• Keeping activity logs;
• Assisting with bed utilization by helping with apartment preparation and cleaning;
• Crisis intervention, mediate between residents when necessary;
• Childcare
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Social Work Supervisor.

• High School Diploma with at least 1 year experience in a residential shelter.
• Familiarity with DHS regulations and DHS Cares Reporting preferred
• Must possess a demonstrated ability in delivering client services including: communication and listening skills, understanding of human interaction and personality development, the ability to write and record case documentation, and demonstrated skills in group counseling.
• Employee must be computer-literate and must have knowledge of Microsoft Office Applications.
• Must have ability to be flexible of schedule as needed
• Excellent written and verbal skills are required