S

Services for the Underserved

Offers services to underserved New Yorkers

Peer Specialist

Full-TimeDeadline 8/10/27
$21.63 - $24.03/hr
Entry
Brooklyn, NY, USA
In Person
Social & Community ServicesResidential & Direct Support

About the job

Requirements
  • Have respect for and a high level of comfort around people experiencing mental health crises.
  • Have lived experience with the mental health system and willingness to share personal experience appropriately and respectfully.
  • Have at least a high school diploma or equivalent GED.
Responsibilities
  • Develop partnerships with guests experiencing crisis using trauma-informed, recovery-oriented, intentional peer support.
  • Promote a safe, comfortable, secure, and trusting environment where guests are listened to and respected; practice Intentional Peer Support.
  • Use knowledge and skills gained through personal experience with the behavioral health system to support guests' personal recovery processes.
  • Create a sense of community through sharing lived experiences and encourage guests to participate in daily activities within the BCR.
  • Assist with pre-registration for individuals referred by hospitals or other treatment providers, as well as self-referrals.
  • Assist with intake and registration of new guests, explain services and expectations, tour the premises, and introduce guests to staff and other guests.
  • Collaborate with Health Home and other community provider staff, as appropriate, to help guests identify, plan for, and realize short-term personal goals and priorities while in the Crisis Program.
  • Facilitate individual and group educational, recovery, wellness, and skill-building opportunities, including wellness self-management, WRAP, peer support, harm reduction, and social or leisure activities.
  • Follow up with guests to monitor and support progress toward goal achievement.
  • Advocate for and facilitate access to needed health care services, proactively addressing barriers such as missed appointments, transportation, fear, stigma, and communication with professional staff.
  • Assist guests with activities of daily living and help maintain a clean-living environment.
  • Document interactions with guests, services provided, critical information and events, collateral contacts, and referrals accurately and on time, as required by SUS policies and the OMH Crisis Program.
  • Perform household upkeep duties as needed.
  • Support meal preparation and help guests access snacks, toiletries, and food items daily; encourage guest participation.
  • Collect and record data related to outcomes, outreach, and other tracking.
  • Participate in supervision, team meetings, trainings, case conferences, and other relevant meetings as required by SUS.
  • Provide flexible evening, night, weekend, and holiday coverage.
Desired Qualifications
  • Work experience in a behavioral health or related setting, preferably using the recovery model.
  • Graduate from a core peer specialist training program; this is preferred but not required at hire, and must be obtained within the probation period.
  • Use computer programs, specifically Microsoft Word and Excel.
  • Bilingual Spanish proficiency.

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).