Community Support Specialist (Mental Health Clubhouse)

Company Description : NAMI San Diego & Imperial Counties (National Alliance on Mental Illness) is a nonprofit organization that provides free education, support services, and advocacy to improve the quality of life of everyone affected by mental illnesses.

Program Description : NAMI SD / IC Clubhouses operate under the Clubhouse International Model for psychosocial rehabilitation, with the goal of empowering adults living with mental illness to live vocationally meaningful and socially satisfying lives. Our program provides a uniquely supportive and collaborative Clubhouse setting where Members (program participants) and staff work together to operate all aspects of the organization in an atmosphere built on principles of mutual respect and caring.

Primary Responsibilities / Function : The Community Support Specialist's foundation is building trusting relationships, creative problem solving, and working side-by-side with members. The Community Support Specialist will engage members in Clubhouse activities of their choosing and promote the work-ordered day structure of the Clubhouse. The Community Support Specialist shall provide training and coverage on transitional employment job placements, utilize the Individual Placement & Support (IPS) model to assist members in supported employment & education, and contribute to job development. The Community Support Specialist will help members connect with supportive resources within the community and may be required to provide transportation using a company vehicle. The Community Support Specialist will participate in Clubhouse social events, where evening, weekend, and holiday coverage may occasionally be needed.

Duties and Responsibilities :

• Support a Work-Ordered Day structure, where members and staff work side by side to perform all duties of the Clubhouse.
• Engage members' participation in all Clubhouse work and opportunities, including reception work, food preparation, newsletter production, job development, snack-bar sales, data entry, and more!
• Support job development efforts and utilize the IPS model for supported employment to assist members with obtaining competitive employment and ongoing education.
• Manage multiple projects and diverse personalities, while maintaining a positive and energetic attitude throughout the day.
• Identify and reinforce member strengths and assess for appropriate support.
• Provide on-site training, assistance, and coverage for members on Transitional Employment Placements within the community.
• Participate in Clubhouse evening, weekend, and holiday events and model positive relationship building.
• Promote self-sufficiency by assisting member to access community resources, including behavioral and physical health care, education, self-help and advocacy, transit, benefits, housing, money management, cultural, faith based, leisure and recreation opportunities.
• Assist in enrolling individuals in NAMI SD / IC Clubhouse and assist the new member within 30 days to identify vocational, educational, social, housing, recreational and health goals, and update member file minimum every six months.
• Document data entry in ClubHOMS and other in-house tracking systems as needed.
• Complete all trainings in a timely manner as required by NAMI SD / IC in accordance with our program contract, including IPS training, trauma-informed-care, recovery language, de-escalation, and motivational interviewing. This may also include an out-of-state, two-week comprehensive training on the Clubhouse International Model.
• Other duties as assigned.

Accountability : Reports to The Plaza Clubhouse Program Manager

Physical Demands : The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with qualified disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Minimum Requirements, including linguistic and cultural skills, education, experiences, licenses and certifications :

Due to our work with vulnerable populations and county contractor requirements, applicants will be required to undergo a background check following a contingent offer of employment and must receive satisfactory results prior to a final offer of employment. If you have any questions regarding this requirement, please feel free to reach out to HR@namisd.org.