Working in a homeless shelter is difficult, but rewarding.
Depending on their goals and capacities, homeless shelters offer many different services, including beds and showers, meals, basic provisions, addiction counseling, housing assistance and life skills training. These services call for a wide variety of professional practitioners, from directors to case managers, who possess skill sets specific to their positions. Most homeless shelter employees, however, need a few common qualifications: a college education, awareness of community resources, and experience working with homeless populations.
Types
One of the most demanding jobs available in homeless shelters is that of program director. The program director coordinates services, oversees staff, ensures safety and completes financial inventories. Case managers and substance abuse counselors work more directly with homeless clients. Case managers assess clients' needs and place them with relevant service providers, while substance abuse counselors help clients overcome addictions to alcohol and hard drugs. Many other shelter services, such as the distribution of meals, rely on volunteer labor. A volunteer coordinator is in charge of securing and organizing this labor by recruiting, interviewing, placing and helping to train non-paid workers.
Qualifications
As stated on the Social Service employment website, the position of program director requires a master's degree in social work or a related field. Most other homeless shelter jobs call for at least a bachelor's degree. Some employers prefer this degree to be in a relevant field like social or human services, while others do not specify a type of degree. The majority require two to four years of experience working with homeless populations.
Skills
Necessary skills for working in a homeless shelter include communication and awareness of community resources, such as housing opportunities, rehabilitation programs and low-cost health care. Volunteer coordinators must cultivate relationships with organizations that provide volunteers, particularly churches, schools and businesses. Most shelter employees, especially case managers and substance abuse counselors, should be trained in crisis intervention and able to keep a healthy emotional distance from clients while still being empathetic. Program directors and volunteer coordinators should be experts at multitasking and demonstrate the ability to provide motivating leadership.
Work Conditions
Working in a homeless shelter can be a high-stress and often depressing job, requiring physical and emotional strength. In particular, according to the Princeton Review, substance abuse counseling is one of the most challenging occupations to undertake. A large percentage of the homeless population is comprised of individuals who are addicted to alcohol and hard drugs. Many suffer from mental illness. Homeless shelter employees must therefore be prepared to deal with clients who are aggressive or abusive due to drugs or mental disturbance.
Salaries
According to Social Service's 2010 job listing, a program director in New York can earn $70,000 a year. The Homelessness Prevention Initiative's 2009 job description for a volunteer coordinator puts the salary at around $21,600 a year, before taxes. As of 2010, according to The Princeton Review, new substance abuse counselors can hope to make $18,000 a year, while the average yearly salary after five years is $29,000 and, after 10 years, $50,000.
Tags: substance abuse, abuse counselors, homeless shelter, program director, substance abuse counselors, shelter employees