Make a Difference in Your Community!

Become a Prevention Professional

Help youth, teens, and adults. Change lives and strengthen your community.
Join us to help end alcohol and substance misuse!
That's the work of prevention.

The Paid Prevention Internship Opportunity (PPIO) is a grant funded, part-time, paid position working and learning in a NYS OASAS Prevention program. The PPIO is designed to offer an entry level pathway to individuals interested in the Prevention field and ultimately in pursuing a Certified Prevention Professional (CPP) or Certified Prevention Specialist (CPS) credential. Completion of the internship provides an individual 60 hours of Prevention-specific education and training.

To be a successful Prevention Intern you must be ready, willing, and able to do the following always:

• Function within the policies and procedures as outlined in program practice guide and employee manual
• Adhere to state regulations and applicable code of conduct
• Perform other resulting and necessary work to meet the needs and requirements of the clients, the program, Hope for Youth, oversight agency and any other regulatory obligations

Tasks/Duties may include (but not limited to):

• Interns will learn the process of identifying the needs of a community.
• Interns will learn about and utilize Evidence Based Programs (EBP) to assess the needs of individuals, families, and the community.
• Interns will develop and implement Environmental Change Strategy efforts.
• Interns will participate in community engagement; attend community meetings, collaborate with community coalitions and task forces, and strengthen community relationships.
• Interns will work closely with community stakeholders including service providers, schools, law enforcement, and local businesses to provide prevention education and tools.
• Interns will aid the agency with the development and implementation of new workshops and initiatives to serve the community and perform other tasks as assigned.
• Interns will be provided with training and supervision to be able to complete all tasks.

Minimum Qualifications to have and maintain:

• Ability to work collaboratively within the agency and the community.
• Ability to build rapport with individuals, families, and stakeholders.
• Integrity and professionalism.
• Good oral and written communication skill; basic computer skills.
• HS/GED preferred
• Enthusiastic and willingness to learn.
• Ability to practice within the scope of OASAS Prevention regulations.
• NYS License in good standing
• Ability to be flexible with scheduling (work evenings, possible weekends if necessary).
• Physical Requirements: read/write reports and log entries, walking/standing for prolonged periods, bending/stooping, kneeling/squatting, climbing stairs, reaching overhead, repetitive wrist/finger movements, ongoing access to reliable vehicle and driving own vehicle (mileage reimbursement available).