Consumer Advocate, Outreach Brooklyn

Breaking Ground’s Street to Home program makes regular contact with more than 2,000 street homeless individuals and connects more than 500 individuals to housing, medical and mental health services, substance abuse counseling, and other essential supports each year. The caring, individually tailored attention clients receive at each stage of their journey from street to home ensures that more than 95% of people who Breaking Ground places remain stably housed.

The Consumer Advocate, Outreach, works with people experiencing street homelessness and living with chronic medical conditions in BOROUGH with the objective of engaging individuals to connect them to appropriate social and medical services and, ultimately, to help improve their overall health and wellbeing and secure appropriate housing solutions.

The Consumer Advocate, Outreach, builds a relationship with clients utilizing motivational interviewing to encourage clients to work towards self-identified housing, health, and other goals. The Consumer Advocate spends most of the shift in the field either in an automobile and/or on foot conducting street outreach, accompanying clients to appointments, and following up on service referrals. The Consumer Advocate conducts assessments, engages clients in self-directed service planning, and enters all required data into required databases.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Engage with identified persons currently experiencing homelessness and living with chronic medical conditions in BOROUGH
• Draw on lived experience of homelessness, mental illness, substance use, and/or immigration issues to build rapport with clients and develop appropriate service connections
• Conduct required assessments
• Attend clinical supervision and training
• Maintain record keeping in compliance with agency standards as well as those of City and State agencies
• Collaborate with Parks Dept., NYPD, DSNY, MTA, and other agencies
• Accompany clients to appointments and follow up on service referrals
• Perform other duties as assigned

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• High School diploma or equivalent required
• Minimum 2 years of related experience
• Lived experience with homelessness, mental illness, substance use, and/or immigration issues, and willingness to appropriately use lived experience as a tool for building client rapport and developing service connection preferred
• Knowledge of local benefit agencies (e.g., Public Assistance) and familiarity with substance abuse, mental health, immigration, and employment resources
• Strong oral and written communication skills and ability to liaise with internal and external stakeholders
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite programs including Word, Excel, Outlook, and Microsoft Teams
• Valid NY, NJ, CT, or PA driver’s license with a good driving record, as defined by Breaking Ground, is a condition of employment
• Bilingual preferred