Health Educator - FPHNY

Argus Community Inc•New York, NY

20d•$0 - $25

About The Position

Health Educators at BOOM!Health deliver street-based and office-based harm reduction services across multiple contracts to people engaging in high-risk behaviors. Services range from low-threshold risk-reduction education to intensive case management. The position supports participants in identifying their strengths, needs, and barriers, accessing services, developing plans, and advocating for themselves. Health Educators also facilitate educational and support groups, welcome participants to the drop-in center, assess immediate needs, and help participants navigate the organization’s services. The role requires comprehensive knowledge of BOOM!Health’s service continuum, staff roles, resources, and participant flow.

Requirements

High school graduate or GED.
Demonstrated interest in harm reduction, syringe exchange, and/or social justice as it relates to people who use drugs.
Strong organizational skills, self-motivation, and ability to work effectively as part of a team.
Excellent interpersonal skills and strong written and verbal communication abilities.
Ability and willingness to be hands-on, address issues as they arise, and contribute to problem solving.
Commitment to harm reduction principles and to working with low-income individuals who use drugs, engage in sex work, and/or belong to other marginalized communities.
Dedication to advancing equal rights and social justice through advocacy, community engagement, and civic participation.
Willingness and ability to work outdoors at street-based sites approximately 20% of the time; schedule may vary.

Nice To Haves

Personal experience navigating supportive services for active drug users.
Work or lived experience in substance-use, HIV, and HCV prevention.
Knowledge of Bronx and East Harlem injection-drug-use/substance-use communities and related service providers.
Bilingual English and Spanish.

Responsibilities

Represent the agency to people seeking services at storefront offices and mobile sites.
Assess participant needs and connect participants with appropriate staff or services.
Recruit participants through street outreach, low-threshold risk-reduction education, networking, and targeted marketing.
Conduct substance-use and sexual-risk assessments and discuss individualized harm-reduction strategies, including safer injection, safer sex, overdose prevention, HIV/HCV, and buprenorphine.
Work collaboratively with participants to identify needs, set goals, develop action plans, and connect them with relevant services.
Provide case management and referrals for public assistance, food and shelter, medical care, transportation, mental health, and substance-use services.
Provide HIV and Hepatitis C counseling, testing, and linkage to care when requested by participants.
Advocate for, translate for, and educate participants to help them navigate community services; escort them as needed.
Monitor and coordinate participant progress through BOOM!Health programs and external providers, develop ongoing action plans, track outcomes, and ensure support.
Facilitate participant-centered interventions, workshops, and groups on topics including crisis management, risk reduction, treatment readiness, overdose prevention, HIV health, and medication management.
Monitor the drop-in center and other work areas, support participant satisfaction, answer phones, take messages, distribute transportation reimbursements, replenish supplies, and provide clerical support as needed.
Stay informed about developments in harm reduction and share best practices with colleagues.
Work with program management to maintain relationships with community agencies and gather and track participant feedback about referrals.
Maintain an updated referral resource directory with access and eligibility information.
Collect, compile, and submit data for program evaluation and grant reporting.
Maintain accurate and detailed participant records.
Assist with street-site and mobile-office setup and perform other assigned duties.