Harm Reduction Outreach Associate

About VOCAL-NY

Founded in 1999, Voices Of Community Activists & Leaders (VOCAL-NY) is a statewide grassroots membership organization that builds power among low-income people affected by HIV/AIDS, the drug war, mass incarceration, and homelessness in order to create healthy and just communities. We accomplish this through community organizing, leadership development, advocacy, direct services, participatory research and direct action.

At VOCAL-NY, we fight for systemic change rooted in justice, compassion, and love. We approach this work with a firm belief in reducing harm and ending stigma, and the knowledge that the issues impacting our communities are driven by institutional oppression, not personal failings. Our campaigns and services have saved or improved the lives of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers across the state.

​​Position Description

This position is part of the Harm Reduction Services team, which provides onsite and street-based syringe exchange, overdose prevention, hepatitis C and HIV education, care coordination, drug treatment education, and other services for active and former drug users. Services are provided in a low-threshold, nonjudgmental and culturally relevant manner. This position will provide harm reduction services for active and former drug users through street-based outreach in several locations throughout Brooklyn. The position will report to the Outreach & Peer Education Programs Manager.

Job Responsibilities

• Street-Based Outreach: Conduct outreach in groups of two throughout multiple locations within Brooklyn to reach individuals who actively use drugs and who face chronic barriers to care or live far from traditional brick-and-mortar harm reduction service.
• Harm Reduction Supplies and Education: Facilitate access to drug user health services as needed, including enrolling people who use drugs, providing them with an SSP ID, furnishing syringes, naloxone, and other harm reduction supplies, providing education and/or referrals, restocking VOCAL’s East New York Public Health Vending Machine, and completing applicable paperwork.
• Supplies Prep: Work with the outreach team to prepare accurately stocked kits that are relevant to people who use drugs.
• Safety assessment & response: Respond to any emergency situations during outreach in a manner which maximizes the safety of staff and participants and in accordance with VOCAL’s training, values, and policies, including participants with safer drug use and overdose prevention.
• Professional Development: Attend trainings as needed to improve skills and knowledge, such as CPR, overdose response, motivational interviewing, needlestick prevention.

Job Requirements

The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of harm reduction and past experience providing low-threshold services to active drug users and a commitment to building power among low-income people who use drugs to fight for social justice.

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills – including the ability to develop trusting and positive relationships with participants while maintaining professional boundaries and enforcing VOCAL’s expectations of participants; work collaboratively, give & receive feedback, and build working relationships with people from all walks of life.
• Ability to drive safely and without incident.
• Excellent time management and organizational skills, including organizing supplies, maintaining accurate written inventory, and anticipating supply ordering needs; and attending meetings and events on time.
• Ability to complete audit-worthy documentation in a timely fashion.
• Compassion for people who use drugs and a deep commitment to harm reduction theory and practice.
• Willingness to attend additional in-house and external trainings.
• Previous experience providing harm reduction services strongly preferred.
• Previous experience providing prevention education and safer substance use strategies and education strongly preferred.
• Strong computer and written communication skills are strongly preferred.
• Fluency in Spanish is strongly preferred.

The position requires the ability to walk extended distances, lift and carry heavy objects such as backpacks or duffel bags filled with harm reduction supplies, and perform physical tasks as necessary. Candidates must be able to comply with these physical demands safely and efficiently.

This position will require regular driving of VOCAL-NY’s outreach van. Candidates must have a valid driver’s license.

This position is included in a union-represented collective bargaining unit, and specific employment terms and conditions are subject to collective bargaining.

Equal Opportunity Statement: VOCAL-NY is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Women, people of color, people who are LGBTQ and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply. We are particularly interested in hiring those who have been adversely affected by HIV, drug use, mass incarceration, and/or homelessness.

VOCAL-NY offers a generous benefits package of 20 days of paid vacation, 15 wellness days, a two-week end-of-year break, 100% employer-covered health, dental, and vision insurance plan, and a 401 (k) retirement plan with 5% match, and more.