Health and Wellness Housing Intern

Job Description

Job Description

Founded in 1974, Community Access continues to uphold and operate as a pioneer of supportive housing and social services in NYC for people with mental health concerns. We proudly lead advocacy efforts that rally our community to promote human rights, social justice, and economic opportunities for all. We are built upon the simple truth that people are experts in their own lives. Our programs are spread across 25 locations and include over 1200 units of supportive housing in three boroughs, the Howie the Harp Advocacy Center, Peer-driven Crisis Respite Center, Adult Home Initiative, Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) and the Intensive Mobile Team (IMT).

Department Description

Health & Wellness initiatives are run within the CA supportive housing programs. Health and Wellness initiatives at Community Access aim to improve the overall health and wellness of participants and reduce isolation and loneliness. Program activities include urban farming (growing vegetables, herbs, flowers, fruits), cooking, farm to table community meals, universal movement groups and classes, DIY workshops and activities, Plant Access, group bicycle rides, outing exploration groups, overall skill-building and skill sharing workshops, etc.

The Health & Wellness team centers the work on trauma informed, peer expertise to create a CA wellness culture that is driven by lived experience and self-determination, harm reduction and health justice.

Core Principles

All CA staff, interns, and volunteers alike are responsible for understanding and incorporating certain principles into their work and into their relationships with program participants. These principles are :

• Program participants’ right to self-determination.
• Respectful communication.
• Services that support recovery and healing consistent with and nurturing each participant’s cultural background, experience, identity, and values.
• Clear professional boundaries to support the limits and possibilities of services.

Internship Activities & Objectives

Using peer support practices & skills, assist site program staff & the Health and Wellness team with a range of health & wellness related programming with tenants including urban farming, cooking, movement, DIY skill building, health self-advocacy / education groups and group trips to access health / wellness opportunities (e.g. farmer’s markets, etc.,). The internship may include other activities outside of health and wellness too, for example : escorting people on appointments, providing one-on-one peer support to residents, facilitating groups, and doing progress notes.

The Intern will

At the conclusion of the internship, the Supervisor / s and the Intern will engage in co-reflection together about the internship experience. This will include identifying areas of strength and areas of development for the intern, as well as identifying areas of strength and areas of development of the internship experience (e.g. supervision, activities, etc.) for the program staff.

Internship Requirements

This job description reflects management’s assignment of essential functions; it does not prescribe or restrict the tasks that may be assigned.