Peer Specialist, Safe ; SOS

Overview

Position: Peer Specialist, Safe Options Support (SOS)

Function: Community outreach on the streets and subways, coordinating participants  needs before and after their move from street to home, enhancing daily living skills, accompaniment to appointments, and advocacy on behalf of participants when faced with discrimination or healthcare inequities.

Reports to: Team Leader, Safe Options Support (SOS)

Shift: Sundays through Thursdays (9am-5pm) or Tuesdays through Saturdays (9am-5pm)

• Persistent and assertive outreach and engagement using strength-based approaches beginning at known hang-outs or hot spots within the transit system or during an inpatient hospital admission or emergency department visit;
• Continuously assess the health and social needs of participants through SOS s conversational and observational assessments and formalized risk assessment tools for those identified as being at high risk;
• Collaborate with the centralized SOR Hub to identify available housing and support participants through the process, including completing HRA 2010e, applying for housing, preparing for interviews, following up with housing providers, and assisting with moving in (day of move) with obtaining housing supplies and learning the neighborhood;
• Participate in hospital discharge planning meetings to identify the best community resources for returning patients;
• Collect and report data, as required, and work with the team leader, data analyst and other SOS teams to use data to inform future care delivery;
• After housing is obtained, work with participants and housing providers to resolve clinical issues affecting the ability to manage and retain supportive housing;
• Foster relationships with community providers to ensure recipients are connected with appropriate services as they transition back into the community;
• Appointment navigation including accompaniment to appointments, travel training, reengagement in community care, and addressing barriers to care;
• Review documentation and conduct comprehensive psychosocial assessments to determine medical, psychiatric, housing and other social needs in the community;
• Obtain historical and collateral information from multiple sources to support participants  behavioral and physical health needs;
• Monitor, evaluate and record participants  progress with respect to care plan goals;
• Attend and participate in team meetings and supervisory sessions;
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

• Experience working with homeless and/or precariously housed populations preferred but not required;
• Knowledge of homeless resources, NYC shelter systems, and MTA transit systems a plus;
• Knowledge of counseling principles and methods for mental illness and substance use disorders;
• Knowledge of treatment, rehabilitation, and community support programs as they relate to recipients/residents, families, and staff;
• Ability to develop, evaluate, implement, and modify treatment intervention to meet the needs of individual recipients;
• Ability to prepare accurate and timely reports;
• Computer proficiency and good documentation skills.

Minimum High School Diploma or equivalent or higher. New York State Certified Peer Specialist preferred or required. Completion of an internship or comparable training in peer advocacy; experience in providing advocacy services to people who are mentally ill and/or homeless. Past or current participant of behavioral health, substance services or homeless services preferred.

Salary: $54,952 plus generous benefits

Please include a resume, cover letter and contact information for 3 professional references.

ACMH is committed to the mental and physical wellbeing of vulnerable New Yorkers and is a leader in the provision of outreach and engagement, care management, rehabilitation, crisis support, and supportive housing. ACMH is committed to becoming an anti-racist organization and seeks to promote actionable change to create an intentional culture of equity at individual, interpersonal and institutional levels.

For more information, visit our website:(Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)..org

ACMH is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in employment decisions based on race, color, creed, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, mental or physical disability, marital status, veteran status or citizenship status.