Mental Health Social Practitioner: Supported Housing

Description

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.

Monday to Friday

9am to 5pm

$30.58 per hour

This role will be split between our scattered sites apartments, our Amsterdam residence and our 47th Street Clubhouse.

Requirements

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Member Support & Advocacy (55%) 

• 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. 

Housing Support 

• 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 

Clubhouse Support

•  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 

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND   ABILITIES

• 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. 

REQUIRED EDUCATION, CERTIFICATION, AND CREDENTIALS

• 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.
• Driver’s License preferred

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

· To perform this job successfully, an individual   must be able to perform each essential duty and meet all physical   requirements satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable   individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions