Part-Time Peer Navigator

Housing Works • Brooklyn, NY

1d

About The Position

The CYA Peer Navigator supports adolescents and young adults ages 13 to 29 living with HIV who are newly diagnosed, out of care, not regularly engaged in care, or not virally suppressed. As a trusted peer and member of the multidisciplinary CYA care team, the Peer Navigator helps identify, engage, link, and retain participants in HIV primary care, behavioral health, medical case management, supportive services, and other resources that address social determinants of health. This role provides outreach, appointment reminders, accompaniment, health education, adherence support, referral follow-up, and patient-centered encouragement using youth-focused, trauma-informed, gender-affirming, harm reduction, health literate, and culturally responsive approach. The Peer Navigator offers insight from a patient perspective and supports participants in building self-management skills, navigating care systems, reducing barriers to care, and progressing toward service plan goals, including sustained engagement in care and viral load suppression.

Requirements

• High School Diploma or GED preferred.
• Completion of the Housing Works Peer Training Program or another recognized peer education program preferred.
• NYS AIDS Institute Peer Certification preferred or willingness to pursue certification and related peer services training as required by the program.
• Training in HIV confidentiality, Article 27-F, professional conduct, code of ethics, personal safety, health literacy, cultural competency, trauma-informed care, gender-affirming care, and harm reduction required upon hire and annually as assigned.

Responsibilities

• Conduct outreach and engagement activities to identify, connect with, and support hard-to-reach adolescents and young adults living with HIV.
• Provide a welcoming orientation to the CYA program, including available HIV primary care, sexual health, behavioral health, medical case management, supportive services, and referral supports.
• Support linkage and retention in HIV care through appointment reminders, motivational check-ins, follow-up calls, text-based reminders when appropriate, and assistance with rescheduling missed appointments.
• Escort or accompany participants to HIV primary care, behavioral health, supportive service, and community referral appointments as needed.
• Assist with re-engagement efforts for participants who miss appointments, are at risk of falling out of care, or are lost to follow-up, including phone calls, letters, outreach, field-based contact, and home visits as approved by program protocol.
• Participate in multidisciplinary case conferences, team meetings, individual supervision, and group supervision as appropriate.
• Facilitate communication between participants and the care team while maintaining appropriate role boundaries and confidentiality.
• Support participants with service plan goals related to self-management, health literacy, appointment adherence, medication adherence, risk reduction, and viral load suppression.
• Provide individual and group health education and peer support on topics such as HIV care engagement, U=U, ART adherence, STI/HCV prevention, PrEP/PEP education for partners, harm reduction, and navigating health systems.
• Assist participants in identifying barriers to care, including transportation, housing, food insecurity, stigma, health literacy, social isolation, and other social determinants of health.
• Assist participants with arranging transportation support, including MetroCards or other approved participation support resources, in accordance with program and agency procedures.
• Support referral follow-up by helping participants understand referral instructions, prepare for appointments, and communicate barriers or outcomes to the care team.
• Participate in quality improvement activities, consumer feedback processes, and program evaluation activities as appropriate.
• Document all peer services, outreach attempts, appointment support, referral follow-up, and time and effort accurately and timely in the appropriate client record, AIRS-related tracking process, or other agency system as directed.
• Maintain strict compliance with HIPAA, NYS Public Health Law Article 27-F, HIV confidentiality requirements, and all agency policies for handling protected health information

Benefits

• Three comprehensive healthcare plans to choose from
• Housing Works covers most of the healthcare plan
• Staff begins accruing PTO immediately for a total of up to 30 days earned in the first year.
• Educational benefit available for tuition loan reimbursement, tuition costs, and text books.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Part-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: High school or GED