Outreach Worker - West

Good Shepherd Services; New York (NY); On-site; USD 42,000 - 56,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Tuition Assistance

PTO 40+ Days

Personal and Pet Insurance

403(B) Retirement Plan

Job summary

Good Shepherd Services seeks a dynamic Outreach Worker to collaborate with program staff, residents, businesses, and community organizations to implement violence-reduction strategies in the Bronx. This role supports mobilization, public education, and coordination of services for high-risk youth and families.

The Outreach Worker will supervise program staff, maintain client caseloads, and ensure timely documentation.

Qualifications

• In-depth knowledge of the Bronx 46th Precinct neighborhoods.
• Residence within the area strongly preferred.
• Experience and knowledge of at-risk youth and gang involvement.
• Ability to pass drug screening.
• Criminal justice history preferred but not required.
• Commitment to community change and trauma-informed practice.

Responsibilities

• Maintain an active caseload of 10–15 participants.
• Conduct Admissions Criterion Screenings for approval.
• Contact participants monthly with three home visits, three in-person meetings, and eight phone conversations.
• Develop Risk Reduction Plans and track progress.
• Link participants to job training, GED/TASC, therapy, and other services.
• Lead advocacy and build networks with outreach workers and community leaders.
• Engage with high-risk individuals on the streets to build trust and provide safe interventions.
• Attend staff meetings and trainings as prescribed by DOHMH and supervisors.

Skills

Verbal communication

Written communication

Bilingual Spanish-English

Computer literacy

Job description

Good Shepherd Services is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome prospective employees for administrative support and direct service and leadership roles, who will join us on that journey, uphold our values and approach, and believe in our mission.

Good Shepherd Services does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status or any other applicable protected classification, in any of our activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, hiring and termination of staff, selection of volunteers and vendors, and provision of services.

We are committed to providing a workplace that is accessible and accommodating to employees with disabilities. As part of our commitment to providing a barrier-free recruitment and selection process, we will provide reasonable accommodations upon request for candidates with disabilities. If you require any accommodations to participate in the hiring process, please inform us of your needs in advance.

We are looking for a dynamic and compassionate Outreach Worker to join our team. The Outreach Worker works with program staff, community residents, businesses, and community-based organizations of all types to implement strategies to reduce and prevent shootings and killings in selected “hot spot” areas within the Bronx 46 th Precinct, which comprises Fordham, University Heights, Morris Heights, and Mount Hope. The Outreach Worker assists the Program Director/Outreach Worker Supervisor in coordinating regular mobilization and public education activities, supervising other program staff, and conducting community outreach. Actively create and sustain partnerships between community and public safety-oriented organizations in NYC neighborhoods to ensure access to existing geographical City Hall initiatives.

Reports to: OUTREACH WORKER SUPERVISOR, Cure Violence Bronx

Location: 1995 Jerome Avenue, Bronx, NY

Hours: 35 hours/week, Non-Exempt

Major Duties:

• Maintain an active caseload of a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 15 participants at all times.
• Perform Admission Criteria Screenings for approval.
• Conduct frequent contact with participants on a monthly basis as follows:
• Three (3) visits in or near home.
• Three (3) additional face-to-face meetings.
• Eight (8) substantive phone conversations.
• Develop Risk Reduction Plans and track progress for update.
• Serve as linkages and support for participants to enhance their use of opportunities and provider programs in the community (i.e., job training/placement, GED/TASC, Therapy, Drug Treatment, Mentoring, etc.) and case manage their referrals.
• Lead advocacy for participants when necessary.
• Build network with other outreach program workers.
• Form relationships with the highest risk persons in the community, as well as the people who know them.
• Be present on the streets with such individuals to develop relationships of trust and safety, from which to be able to intervene in the moment if necessary and to learn about emerging conflicts.
• Acquire information on potential conflicts in the area, attending or convening gang mediation meetings and working with perpetrators and gang leaders to resolve conflicts that arise between gangs or individuals.
• Meet with high-risk individuals on a daily basis to discuss problems that arise.
• Provide age-appropriate engagement and interaction with youth and young adults encountered and adhere to all agency guidelines and ethics regarding treatment of participants.
• Help prevent retaliatory shootings by meeting with a shooting’s victim and the victim’s family in the hospital, or elsewhere, to calm the situation, providing mediation and assistance, including referral to any relevant support and mediation resources, and remain in contact.
• Mobilize the community around violence reduction by distributing public education materials, developing relationships with key community leaders, and attending community responses to shootings.
• Keep a daily log of contacts with high-risk individuals and document conflicts resolved information.
• Enter all such information timely into the prescribed database on handheld devices or office computers.
• Be in contact with Outreach Worker Supervisor and/or Director at all times to be accountable for effective use of time and to receive guidance and direction.
• Provide 24 hour on call availability as directed by Director/Outreach Worker Supervisor.
• Attend all staff meetings timely, and attend other internal and external meetings as directed.
• Participate in training programs prescribed by DOHMH and by GSS supervisors, including conflict mediation, motivational interviewing, trauma-informed practice, and other tools for effective work.
• Lean and use trauma-informed practice (TIP), which may include tools from the Sanctuary Model of TIP.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• An in-depth knowledge of the Bronx 46th Precinct neighborhoods.
• Residence within the area strongly preferred.
• Experience and direct knowledge of at-risk youth and gang involvement.
• Ideal candidate is someone very close to the streets with the ability to communicate effectively with gang members and other high-risk individuals, and able to gain trust of the highest risk individuals.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Computer literate and able to enter notes and activities into databases via handheld devices and office computers.
• Ability to work a highly flexible schedule that includes late evenings, weekends and holidays
• Ability to pass drug screening.
• Criminal justice history preferred but may not be under current criminal justice supervision.
• Committed to working toward positive community change.
• Commitment to work from a strength-based, trauma-informed youth and family development perspective.
• Valid, clean NYS driver’s license strongly preferred.
• Ability to use public transportation.
• Ability to travel intensively, stand and walk for long periods, able to lift 25 lbs, bend and lift, and be otherwise physically active.
• Bilingual Spanish-English a plus.

Good Shepherd Services is a leading multi-service agency with more than 85 programs that serve over 30,000 youth and families each year – and builds on their strengths to help them gain skills for success. At Good Shepherd we respect the dignity and worth of every person and reject intolerance, inequity and injustice in whatever form it may take. Voted one of the top 100 places to work in NYC by Crain’s New York, Good Shepherd Services offers a fantastic work environment, a collaborative team dedicated to fulfilling our mission, and an amazing array of benefits. Join our team and help make a difference!

General Requirements: All staff are expected to be committed to the mission, vision, and values of Good Shepherd Services, which includes involvement in quality improvement activities and a willingness and ability to work within a culturally diverse environment.

Good Shepherd Services is committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, participants, volunteers, subcontractors, and vendors. We do not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, hiring and firing of staff, selection of volunteers and vendors, and provision of services.

Tuition Assistance 40+ Days of Paid Time Off

Personal and Pet Insurance 403 (B) Retirement Plan

Sign up for email headlines

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.