Family Advocate

Do you have lived experience supporting a loved one with a mental health condition and want to use your journey to help other families? The Family Education and Resource Center (FERC) is seeking compassionate, organized, and family‑centered individuals who believe that no family should navigate mental health challenges alone. As a Family Advocate, you will provide education, emotional support, resource navigation, and advocacy to caregivers throughout Alameda County while helping families build hope, resilience, and connections to community resources.

• Competitive salary – no college degree required and open to unlicensed professionals
• Eligible for first pay increase after successful completion of 3‑month introductory period
• Some positions offer Bilingual Pay Differential for fluency in an Alameda County threshold language
• 100% paid medical and dental coverage for the employee
• Generous time off benefits: 14 paid Holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Years
• Vacation leave 2 weeks per year, increases to 4 weeks by year four of employment
• Reimbursement for work travel
• Paid volunteer time‑off
• Tuition reimbursement
• On‑the‑job training
• Opportunities to attend local and state‑wide workshops and conferences
• Paid training to become a Certified Peer Support Specialist
• Family to Family facilitator training through NAMI CA
• Wellness Recovery Action Plan facilitator training
• Mental Health First Aid instructor training
• …and more!

The Mental Health Association of Alameda County (MHAAC) is a well‑established non‑profit organization that assists and advocates for people with mental illness and their family members through programs including the Family Education and Resource Center, the Family Partnership Program, the African American Family Outreach Project, and Patients’ Rights Advocacy. Together these programs assist thousands of people with serious mental illness and their family members every year.

MHAAC’s current budget is around $5 million.

The Family Education and Resource Center (FERC) is a family‑centered program that provides free education, advocacy, and support to family caregivers of a loved one living with mental health conditions and resides in all regions of Alameda County. What makes FERC unique is that all of our staff have family or loved ones with mental health issues. FERC’s programmatic components include a warm‑line;

education, training and support for family/caregivers; a resource center; assistance with AB1424 Historical Information Forms; support for the development of family leadership; and collaboration with other MHSA funded programs.

We’ve been there, and we can help.

• A compassionate family member of a loved one who has a mental health challenge
• Experienced in navigating the behavioral health system for your loved one to access and receive services
• Empathetic; you can understand the challenges other families are going through trying to advocate for their family member(s)
• You’ve always been told by your friends that, “You’re such a good listener.”
• Ready to learn about family advocacy and what it takes to represent the voices of family caregivers in Alameda County

The Family Advocate provides peer‑based support, education, advocacy, and resource navigation to family caregivers of loved ones living with mental health conditions or serious mental illness. The Advocate conducts intakes and assessments, develops support and safety plans, facilitates support groups and educational activities, maintains timely documentation, and collaborates with community partners and internal staff to connect families with services and resources that promote wellness, recovery, and family empowerment.

Under the supervision and guidance of the Program Supervisor, the Family Advocate’s duties may include, but are not limited to the following:

• Provide individualized support, advocacy, and guidance to family caregivers navigating behavioral health, educational, and community support systems
• Assist clients in identifying needs, developing goals, and accessing appropriate services and resources within Alameda County and surrounding communities
• Conduct client engagement and…