Access Clinician

Description

Salary Range: $71,998 - $78,688 per year 

(Clinicians Receive a $5,000 Hiring Bonus & Loan Forgiveness of $5,000!)

FLSA Status: Exempt

Schedule: Full-time; Tuesday - Saturday, 7:00AM - 3:00PM

Homelessness is a public health, social and racial justice issue!

Since 1984, St. Francis House has committed itself to healing the wounds of those impacted by an inequitable society and breaking down the barriers, including systemic racism that prevent all people from living lives of dignity.

St. Francis House is the State’s largest provider of day services supporting people who are at risk of or are experiencing homelessness. Located in the heart of downtown Boston, we compassionately welcome nearly 500+ adults through our doors every day who are seeking a safe and dignified refuge and opportunities to rebuild their lives. Our holistic approach allows us to deepen our impact by offering integrated programing that helps our guests achieve stability in the areas of housing, income, and behavioral health. Joining our team would provide you a dynamic opportunity to work with an interdisciplinary team of providers dedicated to solving this public health crisis.

We offer an extensive Benefits package! Up to 90% of individual insurance premiums paid for Harvard Pilgrim Health Care health insurance & Atlus dental insurance, 4 weeks of vacation and 13 holidays recognized per year, employer – paid life & disability insurance, a vested 403b retirement with 5% match, and much more!

Job Summary:

The Access Clinician works as part of the Behavioral Health department to triage and support guests with complex needs. The Access Clinician provides brief counseling, assessment, referral, and advocacy services and will have a specialized focus on coordinating care with external agencies for these guests. The Access Clinician helps guests obtain the skills, support, and resources needed to achieve stability in key areas such as housing, income, and behavioral health and will be an integral and active part of crisis intervention process within St. Francis House. This position will work collaboratively on an interdisciplinary team. 

Behavioral Health at St. Francis House is grounded in trauma-informed, person-centered and recovery-oriented practices in order to assist guests in addressing the various and complex barriers associated with homelessness.
 

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

• Provides brief, solution-focused counseling interventions to high-risk guests in day shelter setting.
• Ensures a highly responsive model of care that welcomes people into treatment “on demand” with limited barriers to access. 
• Works within a holistic care model, collaborating closely with guests’ care teams both within the agency and externally. 
• Conducts and documents intakes, assessments, treatment plans, and maintains timely clinical notes. 
• Coordinates with external agencies (PSI, WM, BPHC, DMH etc.) to case conference around guests with nontraditional needs.
• Incorporates low threshold case management support within counseling services.
• Attends weekly A1 Task Force meeting to coordinate with area outreach teams around needs of shared guests.
• Maintains a caseload of guests who are unable to navigate standard case management expectations, engaging in a flexible and supportive approach to help them meet their needs.
• Acts as primary support for SFH staff navigating behavioral health crises.
• Engages in emergency mental health actions (Section 12, BEST team calls) as needed.
• Works collectively with Harm Reduction team to triage, engage and assess specific substance use related needs of guests. 
• Works with Guest Engagement and CES staff members to identify and engage with high need guests.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• LCSW required, LICSW preferred. LMHC will be considered.
• 2-4 years’ experience with highly vulnerable, high-barrier, individuals and awareness of issues common to those who are experiencing homelessness.
• Experience with a population with co-occurring disorders.
• Experience working with and within a substance abuse treatment environment a plus.
• Lived experience of homelessness and/or recovery a plus.

Work Environment & Activity

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Must be able to lift up to 10 pounds at times.
• Occasionally works in outdoor weather conditions.
• Prolonged standing and moving throughout multi-level building.
• Constantly operate computer and other office machinery, such as a calculator, copy machine, computer printer, 2-way radio.

 If you are ready to make a lasting impact in the lives of others, please complete our application process.

SFH is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. We are committed to fair and equitable employment practices and to fostering a workplace where all employees are respected, supported, and able to grow. In support of our mission, we encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply, including those with lived experience of homelessness or recovery and those who have faced barriers to employment. We value the range of experiences and perspectives that strengthen our work in the community.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these duties.

This job description is subject to change and does not restrict management’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.