Youth Peer Advocate

The Mental Health Association of NYC, Inc. dba Vibrant Emotional Health; United States; On-site; USD 40,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

Vibrant Emotional Health is seeking a Youth Peer Advocate in New York, NY. This onsite, full-time role supports adolescent participants, advocates for youth voices, and collaborates with the Adolescent Skills Center team to enable goal attainment through a strength-based approach.

The position emphasizes collaboration, public health education, and empowerment within youth-serving systems of NYC, with a focus on education, vocation, and social-emotional wellness.

Qualifications

• Experience with the mental health system as a consumer, family member or educational experience.
• High School Diploma or GED; Some college preferred.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office.
• Ability to develop new skills in public speaking.
• Knowledge of the child/youth serving systems of NYC.
• Advocacy and empowerment skills.
• Bilingual and bicultural candidates encouraged to apply.
• Exceptional skills accepted even if not all qualifications met.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a role model for Adolescent Skills Center participants.
• Collaborate with ASC staff to plan care and advocate for youth voices.
• Share knowledge of youth-serving systems in NYC.
• Co-facilitate daily group activities with ASC staff.
• Support youth at appointments, community and family meetings.
• Provide psycho-education on mental health topics relevant to youth.
• Organize social, recreational and educational activities.
• Represent youth interests in public forums and advisory groups.
• Promote problem solving and decision-making in education, vocation and social-emotional wellness.
• Carry a caseload of Vocational and D-75 Students.
• Manage charts and ensure documentation is up to date.
• Additional duties as assigned

Skills

Mental health experience

Public speaking

Bilingual

Advocacy

Youth services knowledge

Education

High school diploma

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Position Title: Youth Peer Advocate Department: Adolescent Skills Center Reports to: Program Director Location: New York, NY; Onsite Schedule: Full-time; Monday-Friday 9am-5pm; 2 days in Queens and 3 days in Lower Manhattan Pay range: $29.23 to $32.98/hour Travel: 0-10%

Vibrant Emotional Health’s groundbreaking solutions have delivered high quality services and support, when, where and how people need it for over 50 years. Through our state-of-the-art technology-enabled services, community wellness programs, and advocacy and education work, we are building a society in which emotional wellness can be a reality for everyone.

Position Overview

To advocate for youth participants and ensure that their voices are heard and goals clearly articulated. The Peer Youth Advocate will be responsible for engaging youth in order to assist them in identifying their needs as well as achieving their goals. The Peer Youth Advocate will be an integral part of the Adolescent Skills Center team and will participate in supportive, recreational and educational activities offered to youth participants. The main focus will be to advocate for youth in all aspects of the work and supporting them through a strength-based approach.

Duties / Responsibilities

• Serves as a role model for Adolescent Skills Center program participants
• Work in collaboration with ASC staff in engaging youth in planning their own care and advocating for their voices to be heard.
• The ability to share personal knowledge and experiences about the youth serving systems and resources available to youth in NYC.
• Provides support to ASC staff with co-facilitation of daily group activities.
• Provide support to youth at appointments, community and family meetings when necessary
• Provides youth with public health and psycho-education regarding mental health and topics that directly relate to youth or hot topics in the community.
• Assists in the organization of social, recreational and educational activities
• Represent the interests of participant youth with emotional/behavioral challenges in a variety of public forums and advisory groups.
• Promote problem solving and decision-making skill development, particularly in the three domains of the ASC, (education, vocation and social-emotional wellness)
• Carry a case load of Vocational and D-75 Students.
• Manage charts and ensure all documentation is up to date.
• Additional duties as assigned

Required Skills and Abilities

• Decision Making: Identifies multi-faceted problems affecting achievement of individual goals and provides solutions. Decisions have minor organizational impact that may require consultation with internal and external stakeholders regarding issues, possible solutions and implementation of alternatives. Analyzes and interprets issues, realigns responsibilities, commits resources and proposes alternative solutions. Implements solutions for minor projects after approval; held accountable if no action is taken. Multi-factor decision- making requiring research and analysis, subject to supervisory guidance.

Required Qualifications

• Experience with the mental health system as a consumer, family member or educational experience
• Completion of a High School Diploma or GED; Some college or college intentions preferred
• Basic knowledge of Microsoft office
• Ability to develop new skills in public speaking
• Basic knowledge of the child/youth serving systems of NYC
• Basic advocacy and empowerment skills
• Bilingual and bicultural candidates are encouraged to apply
• Candidates possessing exceptional skill but not all of the qualifications are also encouraged to apply

Physical Requirements

This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines. The person in this position needs to occasionally move about inside the office to access file cabinets, office machinery, etc. Constantly operates a computer and other office productivity machinery, such as a calculator, copy machine, and computer printer

Compensation and Benefits

Full time employees will be eligible for excellent comprehensive benefits, including medical, dental, vision, supplemental income insurance, employer paid disability insurance, employer paid life insurance, pre-tax FSA for medical and dependent care, and 401K available.

A complete overview of compensation and benefits will be provided by the Talent Acquisition team during the hiring process.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Vibrant Emotional Health is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants are considered for positions without regard to veteran status, uniformed service member status, race, creed, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, citizenship status, national origin, marital status, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, caregiver status or any other category protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.

Future Vision

For 50 years, Vibrant Emotional Health, formerly the Mental Health Association of New York City (MHA-NYC), has been at the forefront of promoting emotional well-being for all people.

As leaders, advocates, educators, and innovators in mental health, we have been raising awareness and offering support to everyone who is struggling.

We work every single day to help save lives and assist people to get care anytime, anywhere and in any way that works for them.

We are unwavering in our belief that everyone can achieve emotional wellness with the right care and support.

If you are interested in applying, we encourage you to think broadly about your background and skill set for the role.