Harm Reduction Drop-in Center 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 who visit our Drop-in Center in Brooklyn. The position will report to and be supervised by the Drop-in & Syringe Service Program Director.

Job Responsibilities

• Drop-in Center: Run drop-in center activities like providing educational information to participants and assuring safe and efficient operation of facilities, such as clothing closet, main drop-in space, lockers, coffee station & living room area.
• Safety assessment & response: Respond to any emergency situations in the drop-in space, as well as support participants with safer drug use and overdose prevention.
• Inventory: Maintain accurate inventory of drop-in supplies.
• Professional Development: Attend trainings as needed to improve skills and knowledge, such as CPR, overdose response, motivational interviewing, needlestick prevention.
• Maintain facilities: Ensure drop-in space is clean, organized & well stocked for participants each day.

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.

• Completion of NYS Department of Health AIDS Institute training for SEP workers and volunteers (if not already completed, must complete within the first 90 days).
• 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.
• Excellent time management and organizational skills, this includes organizing supplies, 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.
• Basic computer skills, including ability to use the internet.
• Fluency in Spanish is strongly preferred.

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.