Community Health Worker

Casa Esperanza, Inc. is a bilingual/bicultural behavioral health treatment provider serving Boston and the Merrimack Valley. Our mission is to empower individuals and families to recover from addiction, trauma, mental illness, and other chronic medical conditions; overcome homelessness and discrimination; and achieve health and wellness through comprehensive, integrated care.

Casa Esperanza is currently seeking Bilingual Community Health Worker who is passionate about public health and understands the impact social determinants of health have on a person’s ability to recover. The Bilingual Community Health Worker will be a part of Casa’s new PALS:
Promotores Amplificando La Sabidura initiative focused on reducing rates of drug overdose deaths and suicide in a social and community context. PALS is an innovative Promotores Model collaborative that incorporates culturally appropriate and linguistically accessible Community Health Workers into a trauma-informed continuum of care to build the capacity of Latines to address health quality problems in their communities.

The PALS Bilingual Community Health Worker will address health equity and access to health for Latines struggling with mental health and substance misuse using strategies that combine innovative outreach service delivery models and community engagement. Outreach strategies and action plans are oriented towards the completion of pre-established objectives and involve many cross-sectoral collaborations with internal organizational partners and external partners in the community.

Service Delivery:

• Work with Promotores Project Manager to develop and implement an outreach and community mapping strategy for reaching at-risk Latines.
• Conduct weekly outreach to individuals in hotspot locations to educate and support individuals in varying stages of recovery and assist with referrals for food, clothing, shelter, detoxification, and/or medical services.
• Deliver educational presentations to community groups, and events regarding signs of substance abuse and mental illness; recovery resources; medical consequences of addictions and medically assisted treatments; and available family support resources.
• Provide bilingual health education services to promote engagement in healthy activities.
• Provides peer health education through health education records and home visits to assess client needs and concerns as they relate to their family, their community, and their health.
• Provide supported referrals to Casa's Continuum of Care, including Outpatient, ATS/CSS, OBAT, and Residential Treatment.
• Collaborate with community partners on outreach and infection control strategies.
• Plans and leads group sessions and discussions on assigned health topics.
• Makes referrals to family support, health, and social service agencies in the area, and follows up with individuals to ensure they receive needed services.
• Reduces stigma and other barriers to initiating or continuing health care by providing good information to both community members and health care providers.
• Develops relationships with local health care and social service providers to facilitate information sharing and service provision.
• Represent the agency by providing education and participating in Boston community health events.

General:

• Maintain all client records and necessary reports within Casa’s Electronic Health Record, Evolv.
• Participate in weekly clinical meetings and multidisciplinary team meetings.
• Actively participates in, and successfully complete, trainings provided by Casa and other agencies.
• Biweekly supervision with Program Coordinator.
• Assist in all reporting as required by Program Coordinator.
• Other duties as required.

• Knowledge of the local healthcare system and community resources.
• Must be available to work weekends and evenings, as needed.
• Ability to work both independently and as a member of a team.
• Experience doing outreach to individuals at risk for addiction, mental illness, trauma, and violence.
• Ability to provide education, service planning, and health navigation.
• Knowledge of care coordination and community resources.
• Familiarity with substance use field…