Mental Health Social Practitioner: Supported Housing

Fountain House•New York, NY

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

About Fountain House For almost 80 years, Fountain House has been developing the clubhouse model, an intentionally designed community where people with serious mental illness support each other toward recovery and the achievement of personal, social, and employment & educational goals. This very intentional strengths-based and relationship-oriented culture requires staff who are fiercely optimistic, professionally curious, flexible, and resilient communitarians. You must be willing to take creative risks and to persist in finding solutions, maintaining hope in the face of all the challenges our resident members experience. We are looking for people who are energized by helping others and being part of a genuine and dynamic community. Become a Social Practitioner and join a collaborative and inspiring movement to support individuals (Members) with serious mental illness (SMI). Fountain House is more than just an organization; it’s a community dedicated to fostering growth, collaboration and positive impact. The Social Practitioner works to help the Members live their lives to the fullest and develop independent living skills and social connections. We use community as our tool to do this based in our Clubhouse environment. This position requires interest in community, creativity, and flexibility. There will be no typical day as a Social Practitioner, but if you could see yourself fostering relationships and connections to community by making lunch, sharing a common interest over coffee, advocating at a social service provider, or helping one of your members stay in independent or supported housing in in the community, then this could be the position for you.

Requirements

Undergraduate degree or an equivalent combination of training and experience required.
Graduate degree or equivalent preferred.
1-3+ years’ experience working with individuals with serious mental illness and or/hands on experience working in a community setting preferred.
1-2 years coaching and counseling experience preferred.
1-2 years of vocational rehabilitation, training or employment specialist experience preferred.
Ability to effectively manage and handle member concerns and behaviors.
Proven experience with mental health crisis management by supporting and counseling members under emotional distress.
Undergraduate degree or an equivalent combination of training and experience required.
Graduate degree or equivalent preferred.
1-2 years’ experience working with individuals with serious mental illness and or/hands on experience working in a community setting preferred.

Nice To Haves

Driver’s License preferred

Responsibilities

Perform member engagement, social design, relationship development, continuous assessment and therapeutic intervention and management of transitional environments with the Fountain House membership.
Support and develop a therapeutic community based on Social Practice and the International Standards for Clubhouse Programs.
Utilize the community to design positive interventions to deal with common barriers such as social isolation, poor self-esteem, anxiety, symptom management, and poverty.
Create access to environments outside of Fountain House not traditionally therapeutically oriented, to build general skills, a sense of confidence, and to support members’ self-efficacy. This includes providing on-site support in employment, education, and housing environments outside of Fountain House.
Develop relationships with Fountain House members and the community that can be leveraged to provide support for positive change and risk-taking, combat social isolation and increase meaningful connections, and introduce members to new opportunities.
Engineer various environments and social interactions to create therapeutic results and develop an accessible positive community.
Observe and assess experiences with members in a variety of naturalistic environments to create specific interventions for individuals’ rehabilitation.
Provide daily advocacy and engagement with Clubhouse members to help gain self-worth, purpose of confidence, while offering guidance for appropriate problem-solving techniques.
Provide counsel for members, individually and in group sessions, to assist in overcoming dependencies, adjusting to life, and making changes.
Responsible for a Resident Roster of approximately 30 members living in our stipend supported housing program
Monthly face to face contacts with each member on their resident roster
Quarterly Apartment visits
Complete required documentation on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis
Organize occasional evening social events
Limited Transitional Employment
Engagement with the members and social practitioners in their units
Acquire proficiency in skills and tasks of the (unit) you are assigned. This may include safety protocols, health guidelines, inventory lists, how to guides, etc.
Complete all documentation including but not limited to progress notes and reach out documentation on time
Maintain compliance with all government agency requirements, company policies and procedures
Periodic overnight travel to High Point Farm, work some holidays including Thanksgiving, some weekend and evening hours
Flexibility with staying late or arriving early, if necessary, to fulfill unit or member needs, and interchangeability with other staff on the unit.
Maintain confidentiality of records relating to members’ progress
Perform related duties as assigned by supervisor