How to hire a social worker for low-income 55+ housing
Does anyone know if it is possible to hire a social worker to help navigate finding low-income housing for a family friend who is 55, unable to hold a job due to a serious head injury years ago (but refuses to apply for disability and is able to do part time delivery jobs). Lives in SF but anywhere in the bay area or anywhere in California or even Oregon would be fine.
I know they'll have waiting lists, but just someone to help find places that meet this scenario, help with the paperwork, they don't have good credit due to unstable life, and to make sure these applications are submitted. And they could even help determine if trying for disability is a good idea. This person has struggled most of his life and will probably be homeless soon as unable to afford current rent.
They really need some guidance and I am willing to pay for someone who can help them. Any ideas or suggestions would be great.
Parent Replies
Hello - you do not necessarily need to pay someone for assistance if looking for housing in SF. There is free housing counselor services funded by the City available every day in person and virtually to help with rental applications, credit repair, compiling documents, etc. You can contact them here: housing.sfgov.org/housing-counselors
Nearly all affordable housing in San Francisco is placed through DAHLIA (SF Housing Portal), which can be accessed at housing.sfgov.org. The application to be placed in a lottery takes less than 5 minutes and can be done on a smart phone. There are lotteries every week, some of which are for senior housing (often defined at 62+). A complete application is required once contacted by a leasing agent from a given building when they come to their place in the lottery. Listing a housing counselor as a second contact on one's DAHLIA application will mean the counselor will also be contacted at that time to help with this next step in the process.
Good luck!
That's really kind of you to offer to help guide a family friend to a more stable retirement.The tricky thing with housing is it's through a county system, so typically people stay in their home counties or move to lower income counties. If he does not have disability through the state, I wonder what his insurance provider is. Kaiser offers medical social workers which can help with the impending homelessness issue. If he gets care from a federally qualified health center, then they too have medical social workers. But it is a long and convoluted process. Perhaps... and this is a big perhaps... reach out to SF State School of Social Work or UC Berkeley and see if they have a job board for this specific request?