SCHEDULE: 40 hours, Mon - Fri 8am – 4:30pm

Pays $34.46 per hour DOE

This position carries a retention bonus of $5000.00, payable in equal instalments of $1000 at 1 month, $1000 at 6 months, and $3000 at 12 months.

This bonus is only available to new, external hires to Pine Street Inn, including temporary staff who are thereafter converted to permanent employment status. This bonus is not available to Pine Street Inn staff or paid interns or paid co-op students who are seeking a transfer to this role. This bonus is only payable for work actually performed in this role. Employees who leave their position before they have worked all the time required for each bonus installment will not be eligible to collect further payment for their prior position, even if they stay at Pine Street Inn in another position.

LOCATION: 105 Chauncy Street, Boston MA

JOB DESCRIPTION:

SUMMARY OF POSITION:

The Outreach Clinician will work within a Specialized Outreach Program – Pathways to Recovery - designed for unsheltered individuals with SUD and COD. The OC, through targeted Outreach and assertive engagement will develop an individual community-based assessment with successful connections to appropriate levels of care based on ASAM criteria. The OC will play an important role in supporting clients through service transitions to ensure a soft landing and warm handoff from the street to recovery and housing. The OC will work as part of a specialized Outreach team and will leverage all recovery and housing resources which reduce barriers to services and housing. The OC will conduct community-based bio-psych-social assessments and provide immediate referral services. Each client will have varying support needs. The Outreach Clinician will work with clients to develop a Safe Placement and Stability plan. These services could include, but are not limited to crisis intervention and safety planning, connection to medication management, emergency services, assisting a guest in accessing detox or recovery services and other stabilization services as needed. Once the clinician and the client have established a Safe Placement and stability plan, the Outreach Clinician will participate in warm hand offs to internal and external providers for continued work toward permanent housing. The Outreach Clinician will work with community providers of health and behavioral health services to coordinate care plans for appropriate medical and behavioral health services. The Outreach Clinician will work within a best practice framework of Stages of Change Theory, Harm Reduction, Motivational Interviewing and Trauma-informed Care and will mitigate barriers to treatment and housing. The Outreach Clinician will work in collaboration with Outreach Specialists, a Housing Support Specialist, a Benefits Navigator, and will report to the Clinical Supervisor of the Behavioral Health Outreach Team. The Outreach Clinician will always work towards a Housing Pathway with clients consistent with the Mission, Vision, and Values of the Pine Street Inn.

REQUIREMENTS:

EDUCATION/TRAINING:

REQUIRED:

• Master’s degree in Social Work or related field
• Ability to obtain LICSW or LMHC within twenty four (24) months of hire date

PREFERRED:

• LICSW
• LMHC
• A valid Massachusetts Driver’s License in good standing

KNOWLEDGE/EXPERIENCE:

REQUIRED:

• Minimum of three (3) years direct care experience providing clinical services, including assessment and referral, crisis intervention and stabilization, individual and group treatment, to adults with mental illness and addictive disorders
• Knowledge, understanding and application of Motivational Interviewing, Trauma-Informed Care and Stage of Change Work
• Knowledge of and strong commitment to harm reduction philosophy, principles and practices
• Knowledge of crisis intervention and stabilization
• Awareness of, and commitment to, self-care strategies, practices and support
• Ability to consult about psychiatric issues with professional and non-professional staff
• Strong computer skills including familiarity with management information systems or database programs
• Expertise in Motivational Interviewing

PREFERRED:

• Experience working in a hospital or trauma center
• Experience in Outreach and or diversion
• Working knowledge of ASAM criteria

• Experience working with chronically homeless, medically vulnerable individuals, with tri-morbidities (mental illness, substance abuse, medically compromised)
• Experience supervising, coaching, mentoring, empowering and otherwise supporting non-clinical direct-care staff
• Knowledge and professional alignment with Housing First philosophy
• Expertise in Trauma-Informed Care, including the impact on direct-care staff (i.e. secondary traumatic stress, vicarious traumatization)
• Bilingual in Spanish and English
• Familiarity with the Massachusetts public and private mental health systems

PHYSICAL ABILITIES/SKILLS:

REQUIRED:

• Ability to respond quickly to crisis
• Ability to access public transportation
• Ability to operate 15 passenger Pine Street Inn van to access different building location and program sites
• Ability to sit for long periods of time and use computer, calculator, fax, copier and other office equipment
• Ability to walk up to 2 miles at time on city streets

MENTAL ABILITIES/SKILLS:

REQUIRED:

• Strong professional, organization and interpersonal communication skills, including the ability to engage very vulnerable and disenfranchised individuals and the people who care for them
• Positive and supportive attitude, including the ability to see, elicit, acknowledge and appreciate the strengths, intentions, skills, wisdom, values, commitments and resilience of direct-care staff
• Empathy, creativity and compassion in holding the complexities of the many and competing needs, demands and expectations that direct-care staff face in their work
• Excellent self-care and personal modeling of active self-care practice
• Ability to model teamwork, dialogue, empowerment, healthy boundaries, time management and other supportive skills
• Ability to work collaboratively as a member of cross-functional teams
• Ability to function under pressure in a fast paced human service environment
• Ability to prioritize and manage different roles and tasks, with attention to deadlines
• Must have highly developed professional ethics to maintain appropriate boundaries and sets limits fairly and consistently
• Ability to work independently and as a part of a team

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:

• Perform bio-psych-social assessments of guests to ensure safety and proper level of care

• Provide crisis intervention and brief stabilization
• Arrange appropriate external referrals and placements
• Follow up on interventions as needed, advocating for appropriate and timely mental health services
• Refer guests to appropriate government programs and facilities
• Work with community-based resources including hospitals and care facilities to coordinate services and ensure appropriate discharges
• Provide mental health and substance abuse counseling
• Maintain a caseload of clients
• Provide ongoing case management services
• Attend appropriate internal and external meetings
• Document inappropriate referrals and other incidents
• Provide periodic in-service training
• Meet for weekly supervision with Clinical Supervisor (alternating individual and group formats)
• Serve on committees
• Maintain appropriate and timely records
• Serve as a source of support and consultation to peers
• Attend all mandatory trainings and other trainings that will enhance skills related to this position
• Performs other related duties as requested/directed by supervisor
• Other duties as assigned in order to meet the needs of the organization during the COVID-19 pandemic or other public health or weather emergency.

INTERNAL CANDIDATES INTERESTED IN APPLYING FOR THIS POSITION, PLEASE SUBMIT A PROMOTION/TRANSFER APPLICATION TO THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT WITHIN 10 DAYS OF POSTING.

Pine Street Inn is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.