Peer Community Health Worker - Reentry

Peer Community Health Worker - Reentry

Job Description

This position is part of the Reentry Program and will work with individuals who are preparing for release from jail or prison, as well as those who have recently been released and are living with chronic health conditions, including substance use disorders and/or mental health challenges. Responsibilities include providing outreach, engagement, counseling, navigation, care coordination, and case management services to support successful community reintegration and improved health outcomes.

As a Peer Community Health Worker, lived experience with the criminal legal system, homelessness, substance use recovery, or behavioral health services is strongly preferred. This position is primarily field-based and involves conducting street outreach and engagement with individuals experiencing homelessness who are justice-impacted. The successful candidate will have strong outreach, networking, and relationship-building skills and be comfortable engaging individuals in encampments, on the streets, and in community settings.

Key responsibilities include conducting street-based outreach, building trust with hard-to-engage populations, providing intensive case management support, connecting clients to housing, healthcare, behavioral health treatment, benefits, employment, and other community resources, and advocating for participants as they navigate reentry and recovery. The position requires a proactive, compassionate, and resourceful individual who can effectively engage vulnerable populations and support their transition toward stability, wellness, and self-sufficiency.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental & Vision
• 13 Paid Holidays + PTO
• 403 (B) retirement match
• Life Insurance, EAP
• Tuition Reimbursement
• SEIU Union
• Flexible Spending Account
• Continued workforce development & training
• Succession plans & growth within

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED (Required)
• Comfortable working with diverse populations, including justice-impacted individuals, people experiencing homelessness, undocumented individuals, LGBTQ+ communities, communities of color, and individuals living with substance use disorders and/or mental health conditions.
• Exceptional ability to build rapport, engage hard-to-reach populations, and establish trusting relationships.
• Strong verbal and written communication, organizational, documentation, and time-management skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team environment.
• Willingness and ability to work in a variety of settings, including streets, encampments, shelters, homes, hospitals, community locations, and correctional facilities.
• Prior experience in outreach, peer support, health navigation, case management, reentry services, homelessness services, behavioral health, or related fields preferred.
• Bilingual English/Spanish preferred (read, write, and speak).
• Individuals with lived experience of incarceration, homelessness, recovery, or system involvement are strongly encouraged to apply.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Conduct proactive street-based outreach and engagement with justice-impacted individuals experiencing homelessness to build relationships and connect them to services.
• Provide intensive field-based case management, care coordination, navigation, and advocacy services to individuals reentering the community following incarceration.
• Maintain a caseload of participants and provide individualized support to address health, behavioral health, housing, employment, benefits, and other social service needs.
• Conduct assessments of participant needs and develop individualized service plans that support successful community reintegration and long-term stability.
• Link, accompany, and advocate for participants in accessing medical, dental, behavioral health, substance use treatment, housing, employment, legal, and social service resources.
• Serve as a mentor and trusted support person, empowering participants through education, coaching, and encouragement throughout the reentry process.
• Collaborate with healthcare providers, behavioral health teams, correctional partners, housing providers, community organizations, and other service providers to coordinate care and improve participant outcomes.
• Participate as an active member of an interdisciplinary care team utilizing an integrated care and treatment model.
• Conduct field visits, home visits, shelter visits, hospital visits, and community-based outreach activities as necessary to engage participants and support service delivery.
• Maintain accurate and timely documentation, outreach logs, assessments, case notes, reports, and other required records in accordance with program requirements and St. John’s policies and procedures.
• Maintain outreach calendars, productivity standards, data collection activities, and reporting requirements established by funders and program leadership.
• Participate in community meetings, coalitions, trainings, outreach events, and partnership-building activities to strengthen service networks and community engagement.
• Adapt to changing program priorities, funding requirements, service delivery models, and community needs as directed by program leadership.
• Support program operations, quality improvement efforts, audits, compliance activities, special projects, and other initiatives required by St. John’s Community Health, funders, and community partners.
• Perform other duties, responsibilities, and special projects reasonably related to the position and assigned by management to support program operations, participant needs, contractual requirements, and organizational priorities.

Additional Requirements

• Reliable transportation and flexibility to travel between Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Riverside Counties as needed.
• Flexibility to work evenings and weekends as needed for community events.

St. John’s Community Health is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer