Outreach Worker

Location:

301 W 37th Street 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10018, USA

Pay or shift range: $19/hr - $25/hr final offers are based on skill set, experience, location, qualifications, and other job-related factors.

$19/hr - $25/hr commensurate with experience.

Three comprehensive healthcare plans are available. Housing Works covers most of the plan; your portion depends on salary. PTO accrues immediately, up to 30 days earned in the first year. An educational benefit provides funds for tuition loan reimbursement, tuition costs, and textbooks.

The Outreach Worker serves as the primary link between clients and agency services. The role involves community engagement activities, harm‑reduction outreach, education, meetings with community partners, and representation within program catchment areas, particularly transit hubs, syringe litter sites, homelessness sites, and midtown Manhattan encampments. The worker conducts overdose prevention interventions, safe injection and disposal education, builds relationships with stakeholders, and locates resources for the harm‑reduction community.

Responsibilities may include recruiting clients, administering questionnaires, data gathering, event organization, and performing administrative tasks.

Primary

• Conduct outreach in assigned catchment areas to engage participants in the field.
• Conduct initial assessments with each participating consumer to evaluate health status and healthcare experience.
• Provide health promotion, education, and risk‑reduction counseling tailored to client needs.
• Provide referrals to appropriate community resources.
• Assist in syringe cleanup at community locations.
• Maintain ongoing communication with clients to support engagement and assess progress, including follow‑ups.
• Work in teams to engage community members and conduct outreach on foot five days a week.
• Prepare to work from a mobile structure or on foot as required.
• Coordinate daily activities with the Outreach Supervisor, including check‑ins and reporting significant findings.
• Submit documentation of services provided within 24 hours of service delivery.
• Adhere to workplace policies and procedures: confidentiality, documentation, communication channels, culture, dress code, and conflict resolution.

Secondary

• Attend relevant meetings.
• Participate in quality assurance and improvement projects.
• Participate in monthly staff and peer worker development meetings.
• Meet agency performance goals and compliance requirements.

• High school diploma or GED required; higher education preferred.
• Ability to enter data into programs such as AIRS, e‑Share, and EiCare.
• Strong verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Outlook, Excel).
• Cultural awareness and sensitivity toward PWUD, PLWHA, LGBTQAI, YIDU, SMI, and MSM.
• Preferred training:
  Motivational Interviewing, Deescalation, Mental Health First Aid, Syringe Exchange and Harm Reduction, Needle stick Prevention, HIV Confidentiality, Risk‑Reduction Counseling, Outreach Safety, Community Sensitivity.
• Ability to make introductions and connections with community members.
• Ability to document services appropriately.
• Frequently walk several miles per day, often standing for prolonged periods.
• Occasionally move to additional worksites.
• Often lift and move objects up to 25 pounds.

Housing Works provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetics. Housing Works does not request previous salary information during the hiring process. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.