Position Title: Youth Peer Advocate
Department: Adolescent Skills Center
Reports to: Program Director
Location: New York, NY; Onsite
Schedule: Full-time; Monday-Friday 9am-5pm; 2 days in Queens and 3 days in Lower Manhattan
Pay range: $29.23 to $32.98/hour
Travel: 0-10%
Vibrant Emotional Health’s groundbreaking solutions have delivered high quality services and support, when, where and how people need it for over 50 years. Through our state-of-the-art technology-enabled services, community wellness programs, and advocacy and education work, we are building a society in which emotional wellness can be a reality for everyone.
Position Overview:
To advocate for youth participants and ensure that their voices are heard and goals clearly articulated. The Peer Youth Advocate will be responsible for engaging youth in order to assist them in identifying their needs as well as achieving their goals. The Peer Youth Advocate will be an integral part of the Adolescent Skills Center team and will participate in supportive, recreational and educational activities offered to youth participants. The main focus will be to advocate for youth in all aspects of the work and supporting them through a strength-based approach.
Duties/Responsibilities:
Serves as a role model for Adolescent Skills Center program participants
Work in collaboration with ASC staff in engaging youth in planning their own care and advocating for their voices to be heard.
The ability to share personal knowledge and experiences about the youth serving systems and resources available to youth in NYC.
Provides support to ASC staff with co-facilitation of daily group activities.
Provide support to youth at appointments, community and family meetings when necessary
Provides youth with public health and psycho-education regarding mental health and topics that directly relate to youth or hot topics in the community.
Assists in the organization of social, recreational and educational activities
Represent the interests of participant youth with emotional/behavioral challenges in a variety of public forums and advisory groups.
Promote problem solving and decision-making skill development, particularly in the three domains of the ASC, (education, vocation and social-emotional wellness)
Carry a case load of Vocational and D-75 Students. Manage charts and ensure all documentation is up to date.
Additional duties as assigned
Required Skills/Abilities:
Decision Making:
Identifies multi-faceted problems affecting achievement of individual goals and provides solutions.
Decisions have minor organizational impact that may require consultation with internal and external stakeholders regarding issues, possible solutions and implementation of alternatives.
Analyzes and interprets issues, realigns responsibilities, commits resources and proposes alternative solutions.
Implements solutions for minor projects after approval; held accountable if no action is taken.
Multi-factor decision- making requiring research and analysis, subject to supervisory guidance.
Required Qualifications:
Experience with the mental health system as a consumer, family member or educational experience
Completion of a High School Diploma or GED; Some college or college intentions preferred
Basic knowledge of Microsoft office
Ability to develop new skills in public speaking
Basic knowledge of the child/youth serving systems of NYC
Basic advocacy and empowerment skills
Bilingual and bicultural candidates are encouraged to apply
Candidates possessing exceptional skill but not all of the qualifications are also encouraged to apply
Physical Requirements:
This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines.
The person in this position needs to occasionally move about inside the office to access file cabinets, office machinery, etc.
Constantly operates a computer and other office productivity machinery,…