Staff Analyst - Skid Row Action Plan Technical Assistance Team Mental Health

Salary: $6806.73-$9820.80 Monthly

SUMMARY

Housing for Health (HFH) is a program office within Community Programs, a division under the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS).

HFH was created and put into implementation in support of the Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative recommendations in response to and in support of the County’s effort to address and combat homelessness in the communities residing within Los Angeles County.

Our organization follows a hybrid work structure where employees work both remotely and from the office, as needed.   

In June 2022, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors directed HFH to collaborate with several other county departments, the CEO Homeless Initiative, and the City of Los Angeles to develop the Skid Row Action Plan (SRAP) - an intentional, and targeted plan aimed at addressing the crisis of homelessness on Skid Row which has been exacerbated over time due to decades of institutional racism.

The SRAP includes several strategies to address homelessness in this area, including technical assistance and capacity building, interim housing opportunities, and coordination of placement of people experiencing homelessness (PEH) into housing.

Persons experiencing homelessness (PEH) often have limited ability to successfully access and/or maintain residency in interim housing due to complex medical, mental health, substance use, and environmental issues that impair their ability to engage in their activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs).

Interim housing and service providers in Skid Row have varied knowledge, skills, and capacity to support the complex needs of PEH.

As a result, PEH often stay unsheltered, exit shelters prematurely, or are pushed to licensed facilities due to inadequate supports in interim housing.

Social workers are experts on the complex psychosocial problems of homeless and formerly homeless individuals including but not limited to functional status, untreated or under- treated mental health and/or substance abuse conditions.

The Staff Analyst mental health support specialist assigned to the SRAP Technical Assistance and Capacity Building Team will participate in off-site and in-person training, technical assistance, tools, and quality assurance activities to improve the capacity of interim housing and service providers in Skid Row to implement harm reduction, motivational interviewing, and trauma informed care.

As part of a multidisciplinary technical assistance team, the staff analyst will build capacity to support client tenancy in interim housing placements, prevent unnecessary higher level of care placements, assist onsite staff with identifying appropriate permanent housing options, and crisis navigation as it relates to mental health, substance use, self-care, health maintenance, activity engagement, and other functional and behavioral problems.

The ideal candidate will be organized, self-directed, systems-orien...