Life Skills Specialist, Permanent Supportive Housing

Job Summary

Under the supervision of the Manager, Permanent Supportive Housing, the Psychosocial Rehabilitation Specialist (PRS) assists individuals residing in Permanent Supportive Housing to compensate for or eliminate functional deficits and interpersonal and/or mental health barriers associated with an individual's behavioral health diagnosis.

Job Qualifications

• High school diploma with appropriate mental health experience and/or other relevant experience
• A valid driver license in the state of Ohio, having access to an insured vehicle for client transportation
• The ability and desire to work closely with other team members
• The ability to form effective therapeutic relationships, to engage clients in the mutual assessment of problems and goalsetting, and to help coordinate care plans from initial contact through the end of service
  
  

Essential Job Duties & Responsibilities

• Provides individualized interventions in living, learning, working, and other social environments, as indicated in individualized service plan
• Identifies, with the person, strengths that may aid clients in achieving recovery, as well as barriers that impede the development of skills necessary for functioning in work, with peers, and with family and/or friends
• Supports skills development to build natural supports (including support/assistance with defining what wellness means to the person to assist him or her with recovery-based goal setting and attainment)
• Assists in the development of interpersonal, community coping, and functional skills (which may include adaptation to home, adaptation to work, adaptation to healthy social environments, learning/practicing skills, such as personal financial management, medication self-monitoring, symptom self-monitoring, etc.)
• Assists in the acquisition of skills for the person to self-recognize emotional triggers and self-manage behaviors related to the behavioral health issue
• Assists with personal development, work performance, and functioning in social and family environments through teaching skills/strategies to ameliorate the effect of behavioral health symptoms
• Assists in enhancing social and coping skills that improve life stresses resulting from the person’s mental illness/addiction
• Assists the person in his or her skills in gaining access to necessary rehabilitative, medical, social, and other services and supports
• Assists the person and other supporting natural resources with illness understanding and self-management (including medication self-monitoring)
• Identifies with the individual and named natural supporters of risk indicators related to substance-related disorder relapse and the development of skills and strategies to prevent relapse
• Assists the individual and family and/or responsible caregivers in the facilitation and coordination of the Individual treatment plan including providing skills support in the individual and/or family’s self-articulation of personal goals and objectives, which can be billed
• Provides rehabilitation and supports daily functioning to improve self-management of the negative effects of psychiatric or emotional symptoms that interfere with a person's daily functioning
• Supports the individual with restoration and implementation of daily functioning and daily routines, which are critical to remaining successful in the home, school, work, and community
• Provides rehabilitation and support to restore skills to function in a natural community environment
• Promotes crisis prevention and improvement while assisting the individual to respond effectively to or avoid identified precursors or triggers that would risk his or her remaining in a community setting or that result in functional impairments. Activities may include, but not be limited to, assisting the individual and family members or other collaterals with identifying a potential psychiatric or personal crisis, developing a crisis management plan, and/or, as appropriate, seeking other supports to restore stability and functioning
• Regularly administers the PHQ-9, GAD-7, BAM, CAGE, Ohio Outcomes Form, and questionnaires used to monitor social determents of health, and other outcomes tools to monitor treatment outcomes and trigger needed referrals

• Provides services to clients as related to social determinants of health including, but not limited to the following:
• housing/neighborhood/environmental needs;
• social supports/community and peer needs; and
• economic needs

• Serves as a Permanent Supportive Services Care Team member to achieve positive client health outcomes
• Actively assists clients in obtaining and maintaining comprehensive healthcare
• Provides ongoing communication to client, healthcare teams, and client’s support network to ensure follow-up and coordinated treatment
• Transports and/or accompanies clients to appointments as needed
• Performs basic administrative tasks related to the job, which includes but is not limited to the following:
• completion of clinical records, forms, and reports;
• completion and posting of progress notes within 72 hours of service (Policy P207.00); and
• education and vocational needs
  

Supervisory: This position does not supervise any other position.

Skills & Knowledge

• Effective oral and written communication skills
• The ability to make sound decisions under stressful conditions
• Ability to organize and prioritize tasks
• An awareness of and sensitivity to the cultural diversity of the populations served
• Using creativity and a drive for results, act as a liaison for the client to receive community resources
• Working knowledge of the stages of growth and development and family dynamics
• Working knowledge of the stages of change
• The ability to understand and accept a team approach to service delivery and agency and program philosophy and goals
  
  

Travel: Travel within the Cleveland area as needed for training and technical assistance. In addition, community travel is necessary to satisfy needs of clients.

About The Centers

The Centers provide health, family, and workforce services at 11 locations throughout Greater Cleveland, creating life-changing solutions for people to lead healthier and more successful lives. We strive to be a service-oriented workplace that pioneers and co-creates solutions while fostering belonging in a community where our team members thrive.

Wellbeing and Benefits

Providing quality benefits to our staff is important to us. Just as important is our staff’s well-being. That’s why we offer a number of choices to meet the different needs of our staff.

• Choice of medical and dental plans
• Health Savings Account
• Flexible Spending Account for Health and Dependent Care
• Vision
• Support for continuing education and credential renewal
• Life Insurance
• Retirement Savings (401k) with a company contribution
• 457(b) Savings
• Mental Health Support
• Employee Assistance Program
• Calm Subscription
• Short and Long-term Disability
  
  

The Centers is an Equal Opportunity Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.