Training and Professional Development

The Coalition offers opportunities for training and professional development to our members through our case manager trainings, information sessions and General Membership meetings.

We are currently hosting trainings and meetings via Zoom. Sign up for our Homeless Services and Housing Network email list to learn more about upcoming trainings and workshops.

We strive to offer high quality workshops and training to help case managers and direct service providers do their jobs well and stay informed about key issues affecting their clients. We work with local experts to secure skilled trainers who can speak with authority, focus on practical skills and applied knowledge, and provide accurate and timely information.

Click here for information about Membership, including General Membership Meetings.

Public Benefits are Key! Trainings

In partnership with Solid Ground’s Benefits Legal Assistance and REACH, we are pleased to host the Public Benefits Are Key! training series. This series is geared towards case managers working with people experiencing homelessness – both new case managers as well as experienced providers who have questions and would like additional support in navigating these resources. You will learn what you can do as a case manager to help your client navigate the benefits process, hear key tips for avoiding barriers, and learn when to contact an attorney. This will be a practical, hands-on training.

  • Social Security Disability Benefits (SSI/SSDI) – January 25th, 2023
  • WFTC (Working Families Tax Credit) – February 15th, 2023
  • The Right to Long-Term Care – March 29th, 2023
  • ABD (Aged, Bling, and Disabled) and HEN (Housing & Essential Needs) – April 19th, 2023
  • TANF and WorkFirst – May 31st, 2023
  • A Deep Dive into Disability Benefits – June 28th, 2023
  • Medicare and Medicaid – July 12th, 2023
  • Basic Food Benefits – September 13th, 2023
  • Accessing Long-Term Care – October 11th, 2023

Public Benefits Shop Talks

Similar to our Public Benefits are Key! Trainings, these our shop talk forums are spaces for homeless service providers to share experiences and resources they have learned when helping clients access public benefits. In addition to resource-sharing and networking, these forums are also spaces to share information on deep dive topics that may uniquely affect some of our unhoused neighbors more than others.

Some of our 2023 Shop Talks will cover:

*NOTE that all Shop Talk topics are starting points. Feel free to join us and steer the conversation as you need to gain resources, share ideas, and make connections!

Specialty Trainings

Annually, we host a training on the complexities and rights afforded to K-12 students experiencing homelessness. This training is designed to inform and share resources to any service providers that work with children, youth, and families experiencing homelessness.

  • McKinney-Vento Community Provider Training – August 1st, 2023

Check out all trainings on our YouTube page!

Past Case Manager Training:

  • Public Benefits are Key! Training Series
    • ABD & HEN – this session, held multiple times in partnership with Solid Ground’s Benefits Legal Assistance team, is an in-depth training about the Aged, Blind, and Disabled (ABD) and Housing & Essential Needs (HEN) programs. The training covers topics such as eligibility, income and resource limits, the disability evaluation process, and best practices for helping clients apply for these benefits. 
    • Medicaid and Medicare – this session, held multiple times in partnership with Solid Ground’s Benefits Legal Assistance team, covers health coverage for low-income community members and those who are elders, blind, or disabled. It covers aspects to eligibility, application, and cost-savings tools like the Spenddown program and the Medicare Savings Program (MSP).
    • TANF & WorkFirst – this session covers navigating and eligibility for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and WorkFirst programs.
    • SSI and SSDI – this training, held with Benefits law Center on January 25th, 2023, covers important topics such as access to applications, expected processes, and how to support your client to get necessary disability benefits.
    • Working Families Tax Credit – this special training, with presenters from Statewide Poverty Action Network and Solid Ground, details an overview of this new tax credit for families and individuals, eligibility requirements, and how to apply.
    • Rights to Long-Term Care – this special training, with presenters from Northwest Justice Project, details how clients may be unfairly removed from long-term care facilities, which can result in homelessness and other adverse impacts, and shares resources on how to serve clients to restore long-term care placement they need and deserve!
    • A Deep Dive into Disability Benefits – Benefits Law Center and Solid Grounds’ Benefits Legal Assistance program joined forces for this special training that covered special topics related to accessing and maintain disability benefits. These include: accessing HEN benefits after being approved for SSI, applying for someone with SUD, and advice on how to navigate resource limits on SSI.
    • Food Benefits – Solid Grounds’ Benefits Legal Assistance program led this highly-demanded training, reviewing types of benefits available for citizens and non-citizens, financial eligibility guideline, tips for increasing benefit size, work requirement exemptions, and troubleshooting tips.
  • McKinney-Vento 101/Helping Homeless Students Training – Held most recently on August 1st, 2023, this training provides basic information on the McKinney-Vento Act, the rights of students experiencing homelessness, school district responsibilities, and resources for service providers to advocate on behalf of youth and families experiencing homelessness.
  • Financial Empowerment: Tools for Homeless Service Providers, July 2020 and monthly mini-training series. Presented in partnership with Hopelink, we discussed the Your Money, Your Goals (YMYG) toolkit and took a closer looks at topics such as how to discuss finances, setting financial goals, earning income while maintaining public benefit eligibility, and dynamic budgeting.
  • Public Benefits 101, December 2019
  • Helping Homeless Students: McKinney-Vento 101, held in September 2019, September 2020, and September 2022
  • Naloxone Training for Behavioral Health and Housing Providers
  • Working with Immigrants
  • What does Health Care Reform mean for people who are homeless?
  • Tenant Screening
  • Economic Stability & Workforce Training
  • Navigating SSI/SSDI applications
  • Street Drugs 101
  • Harm Reduction in Theory and Practice
  • Working with Interpreters 
  • Domestic Violence & Housing First
  • Legal Assistance