Advocacy Intern

Community Access • New York, NY

309d

About The Position

Founded in 1974, Community Access continues to uphold and operate as a pioneer of supportive housing and social services in NYC for people with mental health concerns. We proudly lead advocacy efforts that rally our community to promote human rights, social justice, and economic opportunities for all. We are built upon the simple truth that people are experts in their own lives. Our programs are spread across 25 locations and include over 1200 units of supportive housing in three boroughs, the Howie the Harp Advocacy Center, Peer-driven Crisis Respite Center, Adult Home Initiative, Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) and the Intensive Mobile Team (IMT). The Advocacy Department is dedicated to promoting the core values of Community Access through a focus on progressive mental health policy and legislative agendas, awareness building, and enhancing the capacity of community members to effectively represent and advocate for their mental health needs. The department trains and empowers people with a lived experience of mental health concerns to engage in activities that influence city and state mental health policies that can lead to systems change.

Requirements

• Must be a current Howie the Harp student.
• Must be in-person (office or field work).
• Have an understanding, appreciation and commitment to the philosophy and mission of Community Access.
• Establish and maintain polite, professional and effective working relationships with all employees and external stakeholders during the performance of duties.
• Strong and clear oral and written communication skills.
• Creativity and flexibility.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Ability to maintain confidential information, as related to position.

Responsibilities

• Work with the Advocacy Department to arrange site visits to CA programs and housing sites with the goal of building relationships with participants to encourage their involvement in advocacy.
• Help organize events organized by Community Access such as advocacy workshops, Participant Advisory Panel (PAP) meetings, and all staff events as well as those organized by external partners including but not limited to coalition meetings, rallies, and press conferences.
• Support CCIT-NYC efforts to advocate for non-police responses to mental health crisis calls in New York City including arranging presentations to community-based organizations and working to further develop a library of stories about individuals experiences with New York City mental health crisis response systems.
• Take notes and support the identification of action steps during Participant Advisory Panel (PAP) meetings.
• Attend and participate in supervision, meetings, and training sessions, as required.
• Other tasks, as needed.

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Intern
• Industry: Ambulatory Health Care Services