Street Outreach Case Manager

Street Outreach Case Manager

Liberation Programs is one of Fairfield County's leading behavioral health organizations specializing in treatment for all types of substance use disorders including alcohol, opiates, depressants and stimulants. Our goal is to help individuals and families overcome addiction in order to restore their lives and ultimately strengthen our communities. Liberation provides services for youth, adults and families that include two inpatient treatment programs, outpatient and intensive outpatient services, health education for older adults and people living with HIV/AIDS and other chronic illnesses, treatment and resources for adolescents and their families, education and prevention efforts in the community, and permanent supportive housing for families.

In operation since 1971, the agency has sites in Greenwich, Stamford, Norwalk and Bridgeport and served more than 2,400 individuals in our last fiscal year.

The Street Outreach Case Manager position is situated within the Harm Reduction Department at Liberation Programs. This department was established by Liberation to bridge the gap between harm reduction and traditional addiction treatment approaches, and assists the organization in offering low-barrier, culturally competent, trauma informed outreach to people who use drugs, in an emotionally safe environment, while delivering practical interventions.

The Street Outreach Case Manager will personally deliver street-based outreach services and case management to a caseload of up to 20 people, by engaging in and building effective relationships with households experiencing unsheltered homelessness and by assisting them in achieving permanent, sustainable housing and accessing services to address needs and barriers. They will be involved in community canvassing, ongoing individual assessment, including working during non-traditional hours – including those living with serious mental health conditions and substance use disorder.

An effective Street Outreach Case Manager will be grounded in harm reduction theory and practice, as well as maintaining a comprehensive working knowledge of the homeless services and housing systems, and of relevant community resources to ensure that those served are connected to housing opportunities as quickly as possible – and that necessary supports are put in place to sustain their housing.

Major

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provide street outreach through canvassing, with designated times outside of normal business hours, in collaboration with agency partners – with the aim of building trust, completing enrollment, providing connections to relevant services, and establishing a pathway to housing.
• Provide ongoing case management services, including connection to mainstream benefits.
• Collect required identification and assist in replacing lost documents. Work with households to collect all personal identification and documentation, income verification, homelessness verification, and disability verification (all when applicable and appropriate) and upload them into the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS).
• Provide ongoing assessments of participants' needs for service, and documenting and monitoring using an individualized service plan.
• Link participants to agencies that can assist with identified needs and coordinate, advocate and monitor on-going service provision. Services include financial entitlements, housing, residential support, clinical / medical treatment, vocational assistance, legal assistance, rehabilitative services, substance use disorder treatment, and veterans' services.
• Provide case management training and support to the Outreach team members at Liberation involved in Harm Reduction / Homeless Outreach.
• Advocate for appropriate policies to benefit those using substances and experiencing homelessness.
• Work with existing housing partners and agencies to build support for harm reduction practices and policies across the sector – to secure stable housing for people experiencing homelessness who struggle with alcohol or drug use.
• Link those struggling with alcohol use disorder to the Managed Alcohol program.
• Work with the Liberation…