Mental Health Support Specialist (MHSS)

Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc.•Centereach, NY

145d•$22 - $23•Onsite

About The Position

The Mental Health Support Specialist (MHSS) provides training in independent living skills—including responsible tenancy, medication management, and personal care—to help individuals achieve their goals and improve their health and mental wellness. The MHSS assists the Program Supervisor in implementing agency policies and procedures. The role supports individuals in developing and pursuing personal goals, maintaining housing and psychiatric stability, and accessing treatment and community resources. Depending on the program, the MHSS provides tenancy supports, community-integration skill building, stabilization services, independent-living-skills training, and crisis planning and intervention. Visits in OMH MRST Programs are conducted as needed. The MHSS documents services and visits using an agency-provided phone and/or laptop and completes required documentation accurately, on time, and in accordance with quality and compliance standards. The position is performed in person and requires travel, with frequency varying by program. In HUD Supported Housing Programs, MRST, and OMH Apartment Treatment Program, team members must use their own transportation to provide services as needed. The role includes prolonged sitting, standing, and walking, operating standard office equipment, reaching, bending, stooping, kneeling, crouching, and lifting up to 25 pounds. Reasonable accommodations may be provided unless they cause undue hardship.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent.
At least one full year of experience in human services or a related field.
Proficient computer skills.
Proficient writing skills, including basic grammar and spelling.
Ability to work in a team environment with flexibility, keep others informed, and anticipate needs.
Efficiency, strong organizational skills, and excellent communication skills.
Valid driver’s license and ability to satisfy FREE’s criteria for drivers.
Ability to sit, walk, and stand for prolonged periods of at least eight hours.
Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing.
Ability to operate standard office equipment, including computers, phones, photocopiers, fax machines, and filing cabinets.
Ability to reach with hands and arms, bend, stoop, kneel, crouch, or stand on a stool as needed.
Ability to lift 25 pounds at a time.
Use of personal transportation for service delivery as needed in HUD Supported Housing Programs, MRST, and OMH Apartment Treatment Program.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with individuals diagnosed with mental illness and/or substance abuse disorders.

Responsibilities

Work with individuals to help them identify and realize personal life goals.
Ensure fire safety equipment is in working condition and teach individuals how to use it.
Teach individuals whom to contact in emergencies, including medical, psychiatric, fire, and lack-of-food situations.
Assist individuals in using community and neighborhood services.
Act as a liaison between individuals, landlords, and treatment team members.
Teach independent living skills that support community living and help prevent homelessness, including apartment maintenance, socialization, budgeting, self-medication, personal care, travel training, shopping, cooking, and returning to school or the workforce.
Develop Individualized Support Plans with individuals and treatment teams and encourage follow-through on goals related to housing stability, medication management, employment and vocational training, mental health treatment, substance-use assessment and referral, and community-based services.
Support individuals’ psychiatric stability through counseling, crisis intervention, daytime activities, treatment participation, and other available resources.
Coordinate psychiatric and physical health services with Health Home.
Assist individuals with mandated treatment, including AOT order specifications, and legal requirements such as parole or probation conditions.
In OMH Supportive Housing Programs, provide tenancy supports, including community integration skill-building and stabilization services.
Provide direct community integration training and support, including community resource coordination, treatment planning, and rehabilitative independent living skills training for individuals transitioning into housing.
Provide stabilization services, including tenancy support planning, rehabilitative independent living skills training, community resource coordination, and crisis planning and intervention to help individuals remain housed.
In OMH MRST Programs, conduct visits on an as-needed basis.
Document services, visits, supports, and other relevant information contemporaneously using an agency-provided phone and/or laptop.
Complete and process required paper and electronic documentation appropriately, promptly, and in accordance with quality and compliance thresholds.
Perform other duties as assigned.
Communicate respectfully with individuals supported, supervisors, team members, and community members.
Maintain confidentiality in accordance with FREE policies.
Meet safety-training requirements, follow safety policies, report unsafe conditions, and take steps to prevent accidents and health or safety risks.
Coordinate, support, attend, and participate in required events, meetings, reviews, and committees, including those outside standard working hours.
Meet job requirements, remain compliant, and adhere to the Employee Handbook, Code of Conduct, applicable laws, and regulations.