S

Services for the Underserved

Offers services to underserved New Yorkers

Peer Specialist

Full-TimeDeadline 9/3/27
$45k - $50k/yr
Mid
Brooklyn, NY, USA
In PersonSignificant travel to visit clients in their homes and other settings is required (50%).
Social & Community ServicesCase Management & Advocacy

About the job

Requirements
  • NYCPS Peer Certification or provisional certification in Recovery Coach, Peer Specialist, or Family Peer Advocate is required.
  • Understand the community in which the team is based and be aware of available community resources.
  • Have made positive and productive progress toward personal recovery.
  • Demonstrate interpersonal communication skills and the ability to empathize with, relate to, and effectively work with participants in mental health services.
  • Be willing and able to disclose a personal recovery story, where appropriate, to empower participants.
  • Exercise sound judgment and understand boundaries when working with participants in mental health services.
  • Adhere to the on-call cell phone system to facilitate crisis intervention, emergencies, and other situations requiring immediate action.
  • Travel significantly to visit clients in their homes and other settings; travel is required 50% of the time.
Responsibilities
  • Facilitate engagement with teams by building strong connections with participants and families, conducting outreach to promote community awareness of S:US services, encouraging help-seeking, and sometimes bridging communication between team members and participants experiencing ambivalence about treatment.
  • Build authentic, meaningful relationships with individuals and families through empathy, sharing experiences, listening, and collaboration.
  • Understand, share, and discuss multiple frameworks for understanding life experiences such as psychosis with participants and team members; use language to listen and make space for personal stories of recovery and resilience.
  • Advocate with and for program participants in the larger community and on the team.
  • Collaborate with participants to clarify their personal visions and develop wellness tools; support participants in strengthening self-awareness, building life skills, and connecting with external resources and community.
  • Influence team culture by advocating for clients, promoting a youth-friendly approach, encouraging recovery-oriented language, and helping foster an environment grounded in human potential and respect for diversity.
  • Maintain open and frequent communication with the team, report safety and other concerns, and keep notes on participant visits as required by the provider agency; co-collaborate on reporting with participants when appropriate.
Desired Qualifications
  • Bilingual English and Spanish is a plus.

About the company

S

Services for the Underserved

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S:US helps New Yorkers who face homelessness, disability, behavioral health and addiction challenges, poverty, criminal justice involvement, and trauma access a wide range of supports across New York City and Long Island. It coordinates services such as case management, housing and stabilization, behavioral health treatment, recovery supports, rehabilitation, advocacy, and community-based programs tailored to each person’s needs. By linking housing, health, justice, and community resources, S:US delivers integrated, place-based services that address multiple barriers at once rather than focusing on a single issue. The goal is to help people lead purposeful lives, improve neighborhoods, and break the cycle of poverty for current and future generations of New Yorkers.

Company Size

1,001-5,000

Company Stage

N/A

Total Funding

N/A

Headquarters

New York City, New York

Founded

1978

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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • The April 2026 crisis center adds recurring operating funding through 2031.
  • Urban Farms and bed-stuy food programs deepen neighborhood visibility and referrals.
  • TD's 2026 grant expands Homebase staffing during acute eviction pressure.

What critics are saying

  • S:US depends heavily on New York public funding and contract renewals.
  • Aerosolized political attacks on supportive housing threaten S:US's core Brooklyn model.
  • If state reimbursement tightens, its housing-and-behavioral-health network faces existential contraction.

What makes Services for the Underserved unique

  • S:US opened Brooklyn's sixth state-funded Crisis Stabilization Center in April 2026.
  • S:US won a $250,000 TD Charitable Foundation grant for eviction prevention.
  • S:US secured a $894,050 Truxton SRO contract through 2032.

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Benefits

  • Wellness Program
  • Professional Development Budget

Company News

Hep Free NYC
Oct 19th, 2023
NYC Hep C Task Force Meeting Highlights | 09-27-2023

In partnership with Services for the Underserved, NYC Health Dept launched the city's first Public Health Vending Machine located at 1676 Broadway, Brooklyn (corner of Decatur and Broadway).