The Community Health Worker is a trusted member of and/or a person who has a close understanding of the community served in the delivery of health-related services through either working directly with providers or their partner organizations. This trusting relationship with the community enables CHW’s to serve as a liaison between health and social services and the community to facilitate members’ access to services and improve the quality and cultural competence of services delivered. CHW’s build individual and community capacity by increasing health knowledge and self-sufficiency through a range of activities such as outreach, community education, informal counseling, social support, and advocacy. CHWs at SFCHC will have the opportunity to gain robust knowledge around services tailored for People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), the Trans Community, Transitional-aged youth, people experiencing homelessness (PEH), and active substance users. 

This position will be mobile and integrated into the agency’s Street Medicine Team. This team aims to provide high quality primary and urgent care services to unhoused members of the Tenderloin community in San Francisco. Patient care happens in both clinical and community settings, including drop-in clinics, on sidewalks, in tents and encampments, or in patient homes. Members of the team must be comfortable working in non-traditional care settings and providing care to people who use substances, with complex mental health and medical diagnoses.

Essential Duties: 

• Conduct outreach to identify and enroll clients in psychosocial and primary care services across programs;
• Provide general advocacy for clients with internal and external service provider; 
• Educate and support clients to be more familiar with and better access different systems of care (medical, complementary therapy, mental health, substance use, etc.); 
• Provide prevention and risk reduction counseling for high-risk clients;
• Participate in lost-to-follow-up staff meetings to review out of care clients, and conduct outreach to support clients in reconnection to care;
• Submit quarterly report to SFCCC on program implementation, data of individuals receiving assistance, and client stories sharing highlights, challenges, and recommendations. 

Major Responsibilities:

• Provide practical and emotional assistance to clients, e.g. accompany clients to appointments when needed;
• Participate in required inter-departmental and agency-wide meetings, trainings, and activities, which may include some evening and weekend hours;
• Document and report Units of Service (UOS) and other required progress reports in a timely manner;
• Attend required meetings with SFCCC CHW Pilot Program Cohort and learning academy (approximately monthly while onboarding and quarterly after).
• Perform other duties as needed.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Ability to sit, stand, and walk frequently. This position will have CHWs in the field more than 50% of the time
• Understand and is part of the community being served.
• A high school diploma or equivalency or equivalent life experience;
• Community Health Worker Certification is preferred or willingness to become certified once state requirements are developed. 
• Experience and ability to work with sexual and gender minorities, refugees, immigrants, homeless, and multiple-diagnosed populations (those with substance use and/or mental health issues) applying harm reduction principles;
• Sensitivity and familiarity with HIV/AIDS cultural issues in communities of color;
• Familiarity with HIV psychosocial and primary care service resources in San Francisco;
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and privacy of persons, documents, data, and communications;
• Ability to travel locally to conduct street outreach
• Excellent verbal, interpersonal, and group communications skills 
• Good documentation, organizational and time management skills 
• Fully vaccinated against COVID-19, complete with booster shot, and able to show proof of vaccination. 
• Up-to-date with vaccinations, especially seasonal flu shot vaccine
• Proof of TB clearance (issued within the past 12 months or less)

Preferred Qualifications:

• Self-starter, self-motivated and able to work within a team
• PC computer skills preferred, especially with MS Office products
• Experience in providing social services especially HIV services and refugee assistance

Location:

• San Francisco, CA