PACT Housing Specialist

This member of the PACT team carries out rehabilitation and support functions, assists in treatment, provides substance abuse services, offers education, support, and consultation to families, and performs crisis intervention under the clinical supervision of staff with professional degrees. This role specializes in housing needs, working with housing authorities and landlords to develop housing options for persons served and helping individuals learn and practice skills to enhance their ability to obtain and maintain housing.

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)
  • 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 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.

Psychiatric Treatment and Dual Diagnosis Substance Abuse Services

• Assist in the provision of ongoing assessment of persons served mental illness symptoms and their 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 that 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.
• Assist in the provision of individual and group treatment in the office and in community settings using a stage-based treatment model that is non-confrontational, considers interactions of mental illness and substance abuse, and has person-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.

Structuring Time and Employment

• Provide individual vocational-supportive counseling to enable persons served to identify vocational strengths and problems, establish vocational or career goals, 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 appropriate clothing, wake-up calls, and transportation.
• Teach job-seeking skills.
• Provide benefits counseling.

Activities of Daily Living Services

• 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 and 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.

Social and Interpersonal Relationships and Leisure Time

• 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.

Support

• 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
  • Transportation

Skills

• Sensitivity to cultural, religious, racial, disability, and gender issues
• Knowledge and use of advocacy techniques
• Knowledge and use of different communication styles
• Skills and competence to establish supportive, trusting relationships with persons served
• Respect for persons served rights and personal preferences in treatment
• Knowledge of human, legal, civil rights, community, and other resources
• Knowledge of the use of formal and informal assessment tools and practices
• Ability to work independently as well as part of a multi-disciplinary team
• Skills and competence to use crisis intervention techniques
• Strong commitment to the right and ability of persons served to live, work, and seek supports as the general population at large
• Knowledge of therapy and teaching modalities

Qualifications

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

Required Certifications

• Post-hire CPR certification required within two weeks of hire
• First Aid certification required within two weeks of hire
• CPSS (Certified Peer Support Specialist) certification required
• NET (Narcan Education and Training) certification required
• PACT Module Training required within 3 months of hire

Driving Requirements

• Driving is a requirement for this position using either a Vinfen van or personal vehicle.
• If using a personal vehicle, you must possess and maintain adequate insurance as well as maintain a safe driving record, subject to annual checks.
• A 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.

Physical Effort

• Ability to stand, walk, bend, kneel, stoop, crouch, crawl, and climb as this is a very physically active position.
• Must be able to lift at least 25 pounds using proper lifting techniques or the use of a two-person lift.
• Ability to operate a computer and other office equipment such as a calculator, copier, and printer.
• Ability to sit, reach, climb stairs, and maneuver through narrow spaces or hallways.
• Ability to assist persons served with tasks of daily living.
• 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.

Pay

USD $54,202.00 per year