Demo

Harm Reduction Social Worker

Victory Programs
Boston, MA Full Time
POSTED ON 11/16/2025
AVAILABLE BEFORE 11/29/2025
Job Type

Full-time

Description

The Harm Reduction Social Worker provides specialized mental health and harm reduction clinical services in a transitional housing setting. This role uses clinical interventions and support to foster a safe and productive environment for individuals living with substance use and mental health disorders. The Harm Reduction Social Worker reports to the Program Director for support and supervision.

Location: Visions of Victory, in Jamaica Plain, is a low threshold transitional living program utilizing a Housing First, harm reduction model. Visions of Victory serves individuals experiencing homelessness, substance use/opioid overdose risk and health/mental health conditions, who may also face multiple barriers to housing.

Essential Functions

  • Act in accordance with Victory Programs’ Standards of Excellence at all times, including maintaining professional ethics, boundaries and client confidentiality.
  • Provide daily support to clients experiencing mental health episodes, and who are actively using substances.
  • Support staff in their engagement and interactions with clients.
  • Provide crisis intervention and leadership in resolving client issues including one-to-one clinical support and appropriate follow-up.
  • Ensure program integrity and safety, support clients and address any issues as they arise. Develop, implement, and facilitate and/or co-facilitate client groups each week and complete required documentation.
  • Provide syringe services, naloxone, and harm reduction supplies for individuals at risk for overdose or infectious disease transmission.
  • Engage clients in an ongoing assessment of needs, connection to services, and review cases and progress in individual and staff meetings.
  • Conduct biopsychosocial need assessments with clients, when indicated, to determine service needs, referrals and potential service plan goals and objectives.
  • Work collaboratively with case managers and other staff to implement client service plans, including helping to facilitate referrals to appropriate resources as needed.
  • Partner with the Clinical Director of Housing in identifying specific clinical learning needs of staff and plan appropriate in-service training if requested.
  • Create agendas for case conferences for staff as requested.
  • Supervise first year social work interns as needed with the support of the Clinical Director of Housing.
  • Engage in crisis intervention and conflict de-escalation as needed in the program.
  • Collaborate on the development of policies and procedures.
  • Maintain accurate documentation and record keeping systems, including but not limited to: assessment; referrals, consent forms; and data collection.
  • Maintain current working knowledge of referral sources such as medical, outpatient counseling, dental, legal, housing, AIDS client services, self-help groups, substance use treatment, shelter and others to provide comprehensive services to the program clients.
  • Attend clinical and administrative supervision, staff meetings, and periodic professional development trainings and workshops as requested by supervisor.

Non-Essential Functions

  • Attend weekly staff and clinical team meetings, in-service trainings and agency workshops. Participate and support the agency in program events, State House rallies, fundraising and advocacy events, rallies, walks and any additional functions.
  • Transport clients to appointments as needed.
  • Perform any other duty or task that may be requested from time to time by your supervisor or designee.

Required Qualifications

  • Master’s Degree in Social Work.
  • Working knowledge of HIV/AIDS and viral hepatitis, homelessness, substance use, STIs, and sex work as well as health-related social issues faced by persons who use drugs.
  • Ability to work effectively with individuals of diverse race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex and drug cultures, age groups, religion, country of origin, disability and economic status.
  • Excellent verbal communication skills including an ability to have open and affirming conversations about sex and substance use risk.
  • Knowledge of group facilitation skills.
  • Strong computer skills, including experience with Microsoft Outlook, Excel and other data bases. CPR certified (may be obtained upon hire)
  • Complete TB screening (may be obtained upon hire)

Preferred Qualifications

  • Previous experience in nonviolent crisis intervention, de-escalation, and milieu management

Position Type: Full-time (40 hours) Mon-Fri 10am-6pm (flexible) On Site.

Rate: $29.33/hr

Victory Programs values a diverse workforce, as we collectively seek to create welcoming, inclusive and accessible environments for our employees and the people we serve. We strive to sustain healthy, functioning communities that respect and celebrate different experiences, identities, cultures and ideas.

Victory Programs has helped individuals and families in crisis for 45 years. Thousands turn to us yearly for shelter, sustenance, recovery, care, and professional, compassionate support. Most struggle with homelessness, substance use and mental health, and many live with HIV/AIDS. Our team of more than 250 staff across 21 programs works with people to develop and execute creative, safe solutions to the very real challenges our clients face.

Our benefit program includes a 75% health and 25% dental employer premium contribution, 100% employer paid disability and life insurances, 19 days of earned time in your first year, sick time, personal days, tuition remission, and a retirement savings opportunity.

Salary Description

$29.33/hr

Salary : $29

If your compensation planning software is too rigid to deploy winning incentive strategies, it’s time to find an adaptable solution. Compensation Planning
Enhance your organization's compensation strategy with salary data sets that HR and team managers can use to pay your staff right. Surveys & Data Sets

What is the career path for a Harm Reduction Social Worker?

Sign up to receive alerts about other jobs on the Harm Reduction Social Worker career path by checking the boxes next to the positions that interest you.
Income Estimation: 
$70,276 - $95,063
Income Estimation: 
$105,705 - $141,212
Income Estimation: 
$68,177 - $89,517
Income Estimation: 
$93,085 - $122,815
Income Estimation: 
$93,085 - $122,815
Income Estimation: 
$123,006 - $172,911
Income Estimation: 
$78,577 - $94,329
Income Estimation: 
$68,177 - $89,517

Sign up to receive alerts about other jobs with skills like those required for the Harm Reduction Social Worker.

Click the checkbox next to the jobs that you are interested in.

  • Automation Skill

    • Income Estimation: $54,822 - $71,584
    • Income Estimation: $54,738 - $70,072
  • Bilingual Skill

    • Income Estimation: $50,271 - $79,025
    • Income Estimation: $63,368 - $80,434
View Core, Job Family, and Industry Job Skills and Competency Data for more than 15,000 Job Titles Skills Library

Job openings at Victory Programs

Victory Programs
Hired Organization Address Boston, MA Full Time
Description The Program Manager is responsible for managing and ensuring safe and smooth program operations, and for the...
Victory Programs
Hired Organization Address Boston, MA Full Time
Job Type Full-time Description The Program Director is responsible for providing supervision, training and capacity-buil...
Victory Programs
Hired Organization Address Boston, MA Full Time
Job Type Full-time Description The Program Manager for Keys to Home oversees the daily operations, supervision, and prog...
Victory Programs
Hired Organization Address Boston, MA Part Time
Job Type Part-time Description The Awake Overnight Low Threshold Housing Resident Assistant is responsible for maintaini...

Not the job you're looking for? Here are some other Harm Reduction Social Worker jobs in the Boston, MA area that may be a better fit.

Harm Reduction Technician (EMT)

Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, Boston, MA

Harm Reduction Technician/Treatment Program Specialist

Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, Boston, MA

AI Assistant is available now!

Feel free to start your new journey!