Mental Health Specialist; Outreach

You believe that every person deserves a place to call home. You see that homelessness is a systemic issue and want to be a part of the solution. You are ready to utilize your talent, experience, and creativity towards purpose-driven work. You want to work alongside industry leaders to learn, implement, and pioneer best practices.

LA Family Housing is a leading non-profit agency in Homeless Services and Real Estate Development. With 40 years of experience and 15,000+ lives changed each year, we know what it takes to end homelessness. We take tremendous pride in the emergence of our staff as national leaders in innovation, best practices, and policy within housing production and homeless services. Join the fight to end homelessness and make a difference in people’s lives at LA Family Housing!

The Mental Health Specialist (MHS) is responsible for providing direct clinical intervention to participants (families and individual adults) in Interim Housing Site(s) or as part of a street-based Multidisciplinary Team (MDT). The MHS will identify participants needing mental health services through assessments, referrals, and coordination of care with partner agencies. The MHS will connect participants to community based and mental health care, provide crisis prevention and intervention, recommend level of care options, and support participants by utilizing evidenced based clinical modalities The MHS will provide in-person individual one-on-one care and lead groups.

The MHS will also support their team by consulting on cases, providing recommendations for services and modeling appropriate interventions with members of their multidisciplinary team. The MHS must be able to complete thorough clinical assessment, maintain accurate clinical documentation, and collaborate closely with various community-based programs connected to the Department of Mental Health (DMH) and Department of Health Services (DHS).

• Provides in-person, individual and group based clinical case management and behavioral health services to people experiencing homelessness in interim housing settings or within a homeless outreach team.
• Conducts mental health, substance use and safety/risk assessments on identified participants
• Creates relationships with mental health service providers, Department of Mental Health, VA and hospital social work teams. Refer participants for services as well as maintain a resource listing of mental health services for participants engaged in LA Family Housing programs.
• Engages in discharge planning and leads care coordination activities
• Utilizes Harm Reduction, Housing First, Low Barrier and Trauma Informed Care philosophies when working with individuals experiencing homelessness
• Works collaboratively with medical providers to ensure PEH are triaged to needed medical care
• Completes risk assessment and safety plan and liaise with Psychiatric Mobile Response Team (PMRT) if danger to self/others resulting from a mental health disorder or grave disability is suspected.
• Follows mandated reporting guidelines with communication to protective and emergency services as needed; complete follow-up documentation as required, including incident reports
• Advocates on participants’ behalf with other organizations and/or government agencies when appropriate
• Coordinate services with other non-clinical staff including:
  • Co-facilitating meetings
  • Organize participant mental health events
  • Provide guidance, direction, and clinical support through case consultations
  • Provide training for social services staff (in coordination with Supervisor)
• Provides crisis intervention and conflict management techniques
• Provides support with medication monitoring services, to help participants take medications correctly and promote healthy and wellness
• Provides task supervision to MSW interns and utilize the interns in providing support to participants serving as a Preceptor or Field Instructor to MSW or MFT interns as needed
• Assists in onboarding activities for MHS new-hires related to mental health assessment, documentation, linkage, and safety procedures
• Ensures that referrals are completed; provide advocacy as needed
• Maintains thorough and accurate…