Part Time Wellness Advocate

Relay provides 24/7 support to individuals transported to hospital emergency departments (EDs) following a non-fatal opioid overdose. The part time Wellness Advocate, reporting to the Wellness Advocate Supervisor in the Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Use Prevention, Care and Treatment, will visit patients in the ED to provide immediate support and overdose prevention training following an overdose event and link patients with team members for ongoing support and linkage to care. Relay is committed to the safety of its staff and will provide PPE and guidelines for work in collaborating EDs.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The part time Wellness Advocates will be responsible for the following activities, including but not limited to:

•  During contracted hours, be on-call to respond to alerts that a patient has been transported to a hospital ED following a non-fatal overdose and has agreed to be contacted.
•  Using their lived experience with substance use to provide support to patients in the ED following a non-fatal overdose, introduce the program to patients and obtain consent for follow up services.
•  Conduct overdose risk reduction education and prevention trainings with patients and their social networks including naloxone distribution.
•  Work collaboratively with ED staff.
•  Maintain detailed records of patient contacts.
•  Collect, report and review program data to assess program performance.
•  Attend monthly supervision meetings.
•  Work collaboratively with other Relay team members and perform other duties as assigned.

Salary: Compensation for this position is as follows: $16.50/hr when On-Call, anywhere within one hour of the assigned hospital ED $33.00/hr when responding to an ED Call, including travel time to and from ED.

Qualifications: A Wellness Advocate possesses first-hand lived experience in substance use, either directly or through a friend or family member, and is eager to draw from their own personal history to provide support through risk reduction education, naloxone training, and linkage to care for those experiencing a non-fatal opioid overdose in the ED. The successful candidate will have:

• Familiarity and an openness to a range of drug treatment modalities and the principles of harm reduction.
•  High school diploma or equivalent, at a minimum.
•  Either a recovery coach certification, CRPA/CRPA-P, CARC, or CASAC/CASAC-T or 2 years of commensurate peer experience.
•  Willingness to travel across NYC.
•  Demonstrated ability to work with diverse populations and strong communication and organizational skills.

Staff will be required to be in compliance with state mandated requirements for health care workers and requirements of our collaborating hospitals.

Work Schedule: Part-time Wellness Advocates can be assigned the following 12-hour shifts: 1. Mondays-Sundays 7pm-7am 2. Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays 7am-7pm Staff should be available to work, at a minimum, 2-3 shifts per week. Availability for program training and supervision is required. Priority will be given to applicants that are willing to work weekday (Monday-Friday) overnight shifts.

To Apply: Please send your cover letter (indicate all shifts you are available for) and resume to the designated email.