Youth Mental Health Advocate - Rising Ground, Inc

Overview

Rising Ground provides caring support and proven paths to positive change, helping children, adults, and families rise above adversity, and each year, Rising Ground is a positive force in the lives of more than 25,000 individuals. We do this through 101 programs in 138 locations throughout New York City and Westchester. Our strong belief and commitment to diversity shows not just through our work with supported persons, but is integral to the building of a strong staff that reflects the communities we serve.

JustUs is a gender-responsive diversion program for girls and LGBTQ+ young people who are either involved, or at high risk of involvement, in the juvenile legal system. All elements of the project are intentionally designed to support young people in cultivating their leadership skills; building their self-reliance; forging healthy social relationships; developing diverse strategies to avoid engaging in criminalized behavior/activities; and greatly enhancing their educational experiences and work opportunities. Our highly skilled team works with young people and their chosen support system to create and follow through with an individualized, holistic plan aimed at helping them thrive emotionally, socially, and financially.

The Mental Health Advocates will work with the JustUs Senior Group Facilitator and Senior Counselor. The Senior Group Facilitator will guide and support the YMHAs in developing skills related to lesson planning, curriculum development and communication for group facilitation. The Senior Counselor will provide weekly group supervision where the advocates will have the opportunity to learn the basics of trauma-informed care, necessary skills for peer-mediation, and to unpack any emotions that might’ve come up for the advocates in their work with the young people of JustUs. In addition to engaging and providing 1:1 supports to young people; they will collaborate on creating and facilitating the group programming for JustUs participants.

Responsibilities

The Youth Mental Health Advocate (YMHA) will support other young people to manage their mental health, address social and emotional difficulties they experience, and improve their wellbeing. With training and coaching from the Academy for Community Behavioral Health (the Academy), and support from JustUs, they will learn skills to care for their own mental health and provide compassionate support to other youth. As part of a CUNY SPS initiative called Working the Gap, YMHAs will be part of a cohort of young people who are gaining skills, contributing to important roles in their communities, and taking at least one college-level course.

YMHAs will work part-time (20 hours/week) from October 2024-May 2025. In this role, you will receive training and ongoing coaching in order to provide help and support to other young people, either one-on-one or in groups. This could include engaging them in activities that help them be themselves and express themselves; teaching skills that can help young people cope and improve their wellbeing, such as problem management, conflict resolution, and self-advocacy; and identifying when someone might need more support and help connect them with care.

As a Youth Mental Health Advocate, you will help the Academy co-design an approach to providing peer mental health support that is relevant and helpful in the community you are working in. This may include sharing your own thoughts and experiences individually and/or as a group, as well as gathering input or observations from youth and other organization staff.

Key Responsibilities:

• Work within Rising Ground’s Teen Hub Space (in our downtown Brooklyn location) and engage young people who enter the space.
• Engage in 1:1 conversations with young people.
• Support the facilitation of the JustUs Drop-in Group.
• Collaborate in the creation and facilitation of the JustUs Empowerment Groups.
• Maintain the Teen Hub Space and provide input in how it should be set up.
• Join the JustUs Youth Advisory Board and provide input on JustUs programming.
• Be available to work Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 10am-6pm.
• Attend Academy training with the intention to share and incorporate what they learn into daily practice
• Attend and support project staff during monthly community events.
• Engage in collaboration and case coordination with all project staff and a vast network of stakeholders.
• Participate in weekly supervision, group collaboration meetings, and attend other required meetings.
• Maintain program records, case files, and funder reports.
• Other duties as required.

Qualifications

• Must be between the ages of 18 and 24 as of October 7th, 2024.
• High school diploma or GED required.
• Must not be currently enrolled in college and will not be enrolled in college at the start of the program (October 7th, 2024).
• Must not currently possess a bachelor’s degree or higher.