Mental Health Clinician, Safe Options Support (SOS)

ACMH INC•New York, NY

10d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Mental Health Clinician, Safe Options Support (SOS) position involves community outreach on the streets and subways, coordinating participants' needs before and after their move from street to home, enhancing their daily living skills, providing supportive counseling, and advocating on their behalf when faced with discrimination or healthcare inequities. The role requires persistent and assertive engagement using strength-based approaches, partnering with various outreach teams and agencies to identify those in need, and continuously assessing participants' health and social needs. This role also collaborates with the SOR Hub for housing, participates in hospital discharge planning, provides short-term therapeutic counseling, supervises case managers and peers, collects and reports data, resolves clinical issues for housed participants, fosters relationships with community providers, navigates appointments, and facilitates crisis interventions. Additionally, the clinician will review documentation, conduct comprehensive psychosocial assessments, obtain historical information, and monitor participant progress.

Requirements

Licensed master’s degree or higher in social work, mental health counseling, nursing or psychology.
Ability to travel throughout the 5 boroughs of New York City.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with homeless and/or precariously housed populations preferred but not required.
Knowledge of homeless resources, NYC shelter systems, and MTA transit systems a plus.
Knowledge of counseling principles and methods for mental illness and substance use disorders.
Knowledge of treatment, rehabilitation, and community support programs as they relate to recipient/residents, families, and staff.
Knowledge of techniques for identifying, assessing, and preventing potentially violent behavior, including crisis management and de-escalation techniques.
Ability to develop, evaluate, implement, and modify treatment intervention to meet the needs of individual recipients.
Ability to prepare accurate and timely reports.
Computer proficiency in Health Information Technology and Microsoft applications such as MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint.

Responsibilities

Persistent and assertive outreach and engagement using strength-based approaches beginning either at known “hang-outs” or “Hot spots” within the transit system or during an inpatient hospital admission or emergency department visit.
Partnering and collaborating with current street outreach teams, local police precincts, local hospitals, the MTA, the Department of Homeless Services and family members/caregivers to identify those in most need of outreach and care.
Continuously assess the health and social needs of participants through SOS’s conversational and observational assessments and formalized risk assessments tools for those identified as being at high risk.
Work in collaborations with the centralized SOR Hub to identify available housing and to support participants through the process. Tasks may include completing HRA 2010e, applying for housing, prepping for interviews, follow up with housing providers, and assistance with moving in (day of move) with obtaining housing supplies and learning the neighborhood.
Participate in hospital discharge planning meetings to identify the best community resources for returning patients.
Provide short term therapeutic counseling and support to participants pre and post housing.
Supervise case managers and peers on the SOS team.
Collects and reports data, as required and work with team leader, data analyst and other SOS teams to use data to inform future care delivery.
Once housed work with participants and their housing providers to resolve clinical issues that are impacting on the participant’s ability manage, and retain supportive housing.
Foster relationship with community provides to ensure that recipients are connected with appropriate services as they transition back into the community.
Appointment navigation including accompaniment to appointments, travel training, reengagement in community care, and addressing barriers to care.
Facilitating crisis interventions, referrals and hospitalizations as appropriate.
Review documentation and conduct comprehensive psychosocial assessments to determine the medical, psychiatric, housing and other social needs in the community.
Obtain historical and collateral information from multiple sources to support participants behavioral and physical health needs.
Monitor, evaluate and record participant progress with respect to care plan goals.
Attend and participate in team meetings and supervisory sessions.