Harm Reduction Specialist, IMT

Community Access Inc•New York, NY

22h•Hybrid

About The Position

Community Access is seeking a Harm Reduction Specialist to join their Intensive Mobile Treatment (IMT) team. The IMT program is an innovative, trauma-informed mobile practice model designed to provide treatment, rehabilitation, and support services to individuals whose needs have not been met by traditional services. These individuals often interact with homeless services, criminal justice, and behavioral health service systems. IMT teams are designed for flexibility and continuity of care for those historically underserved. The team works collaboratively with participants in their living environments, using assertive engagement strategies to connect them with services. Team members share responsibility for the people they serve, assisting them in achieving housing and other personal and safety goals related to health, social, work, or education. The IMT teams are multi-disciplinary, including psychiatry, nursing, social work, and peer specialists, offering rehabilitation, treatment, and recovery support services. They provide expertise in housing, substance use and harm reduction, criminal justice, peer support, and behavioral health recovery. Team members collaborate to deliver comprehensive, integrated, and flexible services tailored to participant choices, needs, and goals. With a low staff-to-participant ratio, services are delivered in natural settings, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Requirements

Have an understanding, appreciation, and commitment to the philosophy and mission of Community Access.
Commitment to person-centered treatment strategies, upholding participants’ rights, and self-determination in service provision.
Minimum of Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work, Psychology, Mental Health Counseling, Criminal Justice or other Health and Human Services related field.
Minimum of two (2) years’ experience working with individuals with a mental health condition with co-occurring substance use disorder.
Available to work a flexible schedule, mornings, evenings and weekends in response to participant needs.
Ability to prioritize and meet deadlines.
Be creative and flexible.
Able to show initiative and be responsible for follow-through.
Ability to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team.
Be skilled in conflict mediation/negotiation and have an assertive approach to problem solving.
Must be able to work in the community, including use of public transportation across the boroughs.
Computer proficiency in Windows operating systems and programs, such as MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, as well as comfort with learning new electronic systems.
Must be fingerprinted and cleared by the New York State Justice Center.

Nice To Haves

LMSW preferred
Bilingual Spanish-speaking, preferred.

Responsibilities

Engage participants through harm reduction strategies including motivational interviewing and stage-wise interventions that target an individual’s readiness for change.
Help the team stay grounded in harm reduction philosophy and strategies such as the use of radical acceptance, person-centered engagement, uplifting self-determination, offering low-threshold services, maximizing options, using both Peer-informed and trauma-informed approaches, and uplifting human rights.
Bring a specific social justice lens to this work.
Serve as a resource to other team members in issues related to mental health and co-occurring substance use.
Use and share a harm reduction lens and approach when working with participants who may be engaging in potentially risky behaviors related to drug use, sex work, psychiatric medications, Diabetes, homelessness, carceral systems, etc.
Complete required assessments and evaluations as needed on a rotating schedule.
Complete progress notes for all contacts, collaterals, and engagement attempts within 2 business days.
Maintain harm reduction toolbox inventory.
Submit OOPP reports on time.
Regularly attend agency Harm Reduction Committee meetings.