PACT Housing Specialist

Vinfen • Somerville, MA

12d • $54,202 - $54,202 • Hybrid

About The Position

This member of the PACT team has responsibility to carry out rehabilitation and support functions and assist in treatment; substance abuse services; education, support, and consultation to families; and crisis intervention under the clinical supervision of staff with professional degrees. This PACT member specializes in housing needs and works with housing authorities and landlords to develop housing options for persons served and helps people learn and practice skills that enhance their chances to get and keep housing.

Requirements

• Two to three years’ work experience with adults dealing with severe mental illness with housing needs.
• Knowledge of Housing Authorities and federal and state housing programs.
• A high school diploma or equivalent is required
• CPR required within two weeks of hire
• First Aid required within two weeks of hire
• CPSS required
• NET required
• PACT Module Training required within 3 months of hire
• Valid driver’s license must be presented at the time of employment.
• Incumbents must be at least 21 years of age, have maintained a valid US driver’s license for at least six months, and must be able to pass a driver’s screening background check.
• Ability to operate a computer and other office equipmentsuch as a calculator, copier, and printer.
• Ability to sit, reach, climb stairs, and maneuver through narrow spaces or hallways.
• Ability to remain in a stationary position 50% of the time as needed.
• Ability to bend, reach, file, sit, stand, and move around the facility.
• Ability to speak, hear, and communicate with persons served, staff, and external representatives.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s degree in a behavioral science (psychology, rehabilitation counseling or social work) is preferred.
• In some cases, experience may be substituted for education.

Responsibilities

• Act as a member of the Individual Treatment Team (ITT) for an assigned number of persons served.
• Participate in a person served-centered comprehensive assessment of psychiatric history (e.g. onset, course and effect of illness, past treatment and responses, and risk behaviors), mental status, and diagnosis; physical health and dental health; use of drugs or alcohol; education and employment; social development and functioning; activities of daily living (e.g. self-care, living situation, nutrition, money management); and family structure and relationships.
• Consult with community agencies and families to maintain coordination in the treatment process.
• Perform shift management in coordination with other PACT shift managers according to established policies and procedures.
• Document person served progress to maintain a permanent record of person served activity according to established methods and procedures.
• Provide treatment, rehabilitation, and support services, with some interventions directed or performed by staff with specialty training and skills.
• Participate in daily staff organizational meetings and treatment planning review meetings.
• Participate in providing substance use and treatment services.
• Provide on-call crisis intervention covering nighttime and weekend hours with clinical back-up.
• Perform other related duties, as required.
• Assist in the provision of ongoing assessment of persons served mental illness symptoms and persons served response to treatment. Make appropriate changes in treatment plans to ensure immediate and appropriate interventions are provided in response to changes in mental status or behavior which put persons served at-risk.
• Assist in provision of symptom education to enable persons served to identify their mental illness symptoms.
• Assist in the provision of direct clinical services including individual support therapy and psychotherapy to persons served on an individual, group, and family basis in the office and in community settings to teach behavioral symptom-management techniques to alleviate and manage symptoms not reduced with medication and to promote personal growth and development by assisting persons served to cope with internal external stresses.
• Assist in the provision of individual and group treatment in the office and in community settings in stage-based treatment model that is non-confrontational, considers interactions of mental illness and substance abuse, and has persons served-determined goals.
• Coordinate with outside inpatient services to detoxify persons served and establish linkage to outpatient treatment, self-help programs, outpatient services, and residential facilities.
• Participate in the provision of rehabilitation services.
• Provide individual vocational-supportive counseling to enable persons served to identify vocational strengths and problems, establish vocational or career goals and plans to reach them, and recognize and target symptoms of mental illness that interfere with work.
• Plan and provide work-related supportive services, such as assistance with grooming and personal hygiene, securing of appropriate clothing, wake-up calls, and transportation.
• Teach job-seeking skills.
• Provide benefits counseling.
• Provide ongoing assessment, problem-solving, side-by-side services, skill training, supervision, and environmental adaptations to assist persons served with activities of daily living.
• Assist persons served to find and maintain a safe and affordable place to live.
• Assist and support persons served to carry out personal hygiene and grooming tasks.
• Provide nutrition education and assistance with meal planning, grocery shopping, and food preparation.
• Assist and support persons served to perform household activities, including house cleaning and laundry.
• Ensure that persons served have adequate financial support.
• Teach money-management skills.
• Help persons served to access reliable transportation.
• Assist and support persons served to have and effectively use a personal primary care physician, dentist, and other medical specialists, as required.
• Provide individual supportive therapy, social skill development, and assertiveness training to increase persons served social and interpersonal activities in community settings.
• Plan, structure, and prompt social and leisure-time activities on evenings, weekends, and holidays.
• Provide side-by-side support and coaching to help persons served socialize.
• Provide practical help and supports, advocacy, coordination, side-by-side individualized support, problem solving, direct assistance, training, and supervision to help persons served obtain the necessities of daily living including medical and dental health care; legal and advocacy services; financial support such as entitlements or housing subsidies; money management services; and transportation.

Benefits

• Vinfen is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran status, or disability status.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: High school or GED