Andrea Soto

Accomplished housing services case manager who specializes in working with people with mental illness, developmental, and physical disabilities. Experienced in management, and advocating for clients’ psychological, personal and social needs as well as working with clients in identifying their strengths, emotional and mental health needs. Bilingual (English, Spanish)

HOUSING CHOICES, Watsonville, CA Jan. 2022- Present

Housing Services Case Manager

Provides supportive services and empowers families and individuals with developmental disabilities in applying for, qualifying for, and obtaining affordable housing. All while maintaining strong relationships with landlords and supportive agencies in order to expand their housing options.

• Provides a variety of supportive services such as housing referrals, legal resources, and financial assistance
• Generates affordable housing opportunities for people with developmental disabilities by offering them the ability to apply for, receive, and retain Housing Choice Vouchers or other subsidized housing options
• Regularly works with 30-50 clients and provides them with individualized, on-time support and care
• Maintains client records through detailed billing system that requires billing for client services in 15-minute increments during the course of a typical workday

Lead Community Support Specialist

Responsible for assisting individuals with developmental, psychological, or physical disabilities in their home and the community. Empowers individuals to choose to live in their own homes, have jobs, develop friendships, and participate in community life and activities. 

• Provides training and resources in self-advocacy, health and safety, relationships, personal finance, job training, transportation, companionship, decision making and problem solving
• Implements independent living skills training and support services to individuals, providing crisis intervention, and supports individuals with community integration
• Provides conflict resolution, de-escalation, medication administration, keeping precise and detailed logs of shifts, writing special incident reports, and maintaining a close relationship with another individual based on mutual respect, trust, and acceptance

Direct Community Support Specialist

Utilizes clinical skills to facilitate and support the strengthening of community members with psychosocial/educational activities that include:

• Performs facilitation of support groups, community meetings, health and well-being activities,

  educational workshops and social/recreation experiences

• Assists with accessing resources in support of community members
• Discerns when to guide, advise, train and/or facilitate community members in problem solving, conflict management, cultural competency, equity and inclusion, etc. 
• Establishes and maintains relationships with community partners

Freelance Tutor

Tutored in all subjects, including Math, English, Literature, and Science. Evaluated and recorded student progress to communicate with students, parents, teachers, administrators, in order to ensure continuity of student progress

• Assisted students in acquiring better understanding of targeted weak areas within a subject or a subject as a whole
• Adapted teaching style to unique needs of students
• Researched and recommended prudent textbooks and learning materials
• Taught, explained, and created new learning concepts in multiple ways for the student to learn
• Communicated with parents regarding their children’s progress, both behaviorally and academically
• Picked-up children from school and transported them to various after-school programs

Undergraduate Student Researcher Internship

Over a 10-month period conducted and presented my own research on the implications for the Latinx community at the annual Cultivamos Excelencia Research Symposium via a series of seminars, roundtables, and workshops.

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE- Sociology, University of California, Santa Cruz