Suicide Prevention Specialist

Suicide Prevention Specialist Description

Helping Heroes is a community based, non-profit facility. It provides support services and resources to homeless and near homeless veterans in order to transition them to, or maintain self-sufficiency.

Job Title: Suicide Prevention Specialist

Summary: is a Senior Social Worker position responsible for implementing and managing crises and suicide prevention strategies to protect our nation’s veteran population. The position provides a comprehensive range of social work services, including case management, counseling, and care coordination, to ensure veterans receive the necessary support and resources to prevent suicide and manage crises.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: include the following (and other duties as may be assigned).

Non-Clinical Responsibilities

· Understand the Veteran’s situation, potential barriers to care, the causes, and the impact of such barriers on the Veteran’s ability to access and maintain support services.

· Identify the Veteran's strengths, limitations, risk factors, and internal/external support and service needs to optimize the Veteran's ability to access and maintain support services.

Specialized Case Management and Care Coordination

· Track all suicide and crisis behaviors through the use of the Suicide Risk Evaluation report and other documentation specific to this position.

· Provide comprehensive case management to ensure Veterans at high risk of suicide receive follow-up care and coordination of services as needed.

· Ensure that Veterans who are at high risk of suicide are provided options for both individual and group psychotherapy. These options for the Veteran can include VA telehealth, face-to-face, and/or telephone appointments for Veterans assigned a patient record flag for high risk of suicide.

· Maintain tracking lists of Veterans designated as high risk of suicide to ensure timely follow-up appointments are made.

· Provide crisis intervention, suicide risk assessment, and safety planning for all Veterans as needed.

· Coordinate with other mental health providers in the community, through ongoing communication, to ensure necessary components in the Veteran's care plan.

· Address ongoing assessment of suicide risk, review of safety plans, etc.

· Ensure that mental health appointments are in place for Veterans identified as high risk of suicide through such ongoing communication.

· When a Veteran is lost to suicide, provide postvention services to both surviving family members and Helping Heroes staff involved in the affected Veteran's care.

· Assure that all Veterans assigned a patient record designation for high risk of suicide are followed properly by appropriate providers through the duration of said designation.

· Follow-up with the Veteran and providers when a Veteran with a high-risk designation fails to report to a mental health appointment in order to address barriers to care, facilitate rescheduling, and ensure patient is safe.

· If the safety of a Veteran cannot be established, or it is determined the Veteran is at imminent risk for self-harm, the Suicide Prevention Specialist will initiate a health-and-welfare check or emergency response request as appropriate to the situation, including contacting the Veteran's identified emergency contact and/or 911, among other actions.

· Maintain awareness of treatment options for those assigned a designation of high risk of suicide and make recommendations to the Veteran's providers regarding such options.

· Obtain relevant HIPPA clearances to allow transmittal of facility data on suicide attempts and individuals at risk to VISN and national authorities for trending and quality assurance purposes; and transmit the data following cyber security requirements as applicable for this sensitive data.

· Assure that all Veterans assigned a designation of high risk are aware of 24-hour resource numbers to call and other ways to obtain assistance should a crisis develop.

· Assure compliance with accrediting body standards related to suicide prevention and crisis management.

· Assist the Veteran in identifying methods to monitor progress toward meeting mental health goals and provide ongoing follow up.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration, Coordination, and Consultation

· Collaborate with other disciplines involved in providing care.

· Consult with other team members and appropriately assess and address the needs of the Veteran.

· Understand the different roles within the interdisciplinary team and act within professional boundaries.

· Adhere to ethical principles about confidentiality, informed consent, compliance with relevant laws, and agency policies (e.g., incident reporting, HIPPA, Duty to Warn).

Administrative Duties and Systems Improvement

· Participate in expanding the knowledge related to Veteran suicide and the Veteran population.

· Help identify systemic barriers within the organization; communicate with organizational leadership about these barriers, and work collaboratively to find viable solutions.

· Participate in annual inspections conducted by funding agencies.

· Collaborate with administration to achieve program sustainability.

Outreach

· Serve as the liaison to VA and community mental health care programs and represent the program in contacts with other agencies and the public.

· Develop and implement ongoing education plans for providers, Veterans, families, and community members on risk factors, warning signs, and treatment options for suicide.

· Develop and implement ongoing education plans for providers, Veterans, families, and community members on risk factors, warning signs, and treatment options for suicide.

· Build and develop relationships with community leaders, VA staff, and other referral networks.

· Schedule meetings with referring agencies to explain program criteria and benefits to increase outreach efforts.

• Assist in conducting and coordinating outreach activities as assigned.
• Setting up and tearing down for events such as fundraising and outreach activities.

Reporting: This individual reports to the CEO who will provide supervision, assignments, and guidance to the Suicide Prevention Specialist. The position is expected to function independently, exercising initiative and judgment in day-to-day activities, based on expertise accumulated through education, training, experience, and reference to relevant professional literature, seeking consultation with the supervisor as appropriate and needed.

Qualifications for this position include:

Master's degree in social work preferred.

· Relevant clinical licensed or certification.

Experience working with Veterans, people in recovery, and/orthe homeless population preferred.

· Proven ability to develop relationships with families as well as a wide variety of service stakeholders (VA, schools, health, and public benefit agencies).

· Work independently on identified case management needs.

· Proficient in written and spoken English.

· Computer proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite.

· Able to lift and carry 50 pounds.

Additional Requirements:

• Veterans of US Armed Forces preferred.
• Submit to a criminal background check.
• Pre-Employment physical with drug screen.
• Copy of transcripts required upon hiring.
• Hold a valid driver’s license, car insurance and be willing and able to travel. DMV driving record must be provided upon hiring.

Pay/ Benefits: Hourly wage, Paid Time Off, 401(k) retirement plan, employee health insurance.

Schedule: 40 hours per week with flexible scheduling to be developed to meet Veteran needs. Must be willing to work some nights, to be on call, and to work some weekends. (We cannot plan for the time a crisis/suicide may occur.)

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $45,000.00 - $50,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Health insurance
• Paid time off

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Evenings as needed
• Nights as needed
• Weekends as needed

Work Location: In person

Salary : $45,000 - $50,000