Community Engagement Coordinator - Mental Health Services - Population Health Science & Policy

The Community Engagement Coordinator within the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai will conduct clerical, administrative and research activities mainly taking place in community-based settings. Working closely with the Program Manager, the Coordinator will support ongoing mental health initiatives and research programs, primarily the HOPE Center/ISSM Partnership and the Brothers=Connect and Haven=Connect initiatives.

This position aims to 1) enhance outreach, education, and engagement in mental health services and 2) foster and expand community partnerships to support mental health for youth and adults, and training. 

The successful candidate will be self-motivated, enthusiastic, and community-driven. Experience conducting human subjects research is preferred, but not required. The candidate must have strong interpersonal skills, attention to detail, demonstrated experience with youth, group facilitation, and passion for supporting mental health and be comfortable discussing mental health topics including suicide. They must have a solid understanding of the social, economic, and political factors impacting historically marginalized groups. 

The HOPE Center/ISMMS Partnership 

• Initiate patient outreach, collect and verify demographic and insurance information and schedule patient appointments.
• Educate patients about clinic services, including available healthcare programs, procedures, and policies. Screen for social determinants of health (e.g., housing insecurity, insurance).
• Collaborate with clinic staff, including social workers, medical residents, interns and administrative personnel, to facilitate efficient patient flow and resolve any potential bottlenecks or delays promptly. 
• Support community-based strategies to raise awareness about mental health issues, including organizing workshops, events, and public presentations.

Brothers=Connect and HAVEN=Connect

• Lead and co-facilitate high energy, engaging trainings for youth and adults, with trainings occurring in person and online.
• Effectively engage and recruit Youth Basketball Leagues, Boys & Girls Clubs, and other community-based organizations to participate in Brothers=Connect.
• Effectively engage and recruit churches across New York state to participate in HAVEN=Connect.
• Develop communication tools informing churches, community-based organization (CBO) leadership, and other community members locally and across New York State about new training opportunities. 
• Collect, maintain, and organize program information using electronic databases like REDCap
• Correspond with study participants by telephone to schedule appointments and reminder calls for follow-up data collection
• Assist with qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis 
• Assist in preparing study-related documents and maintaining study files
• Assist in all other daily activities of ongoing research studies (preparing mailings, study documents, reports, etc.) as needed.

About the HOPE Center/ISMMS Partnership: 

In 2022, the HOPE (Healing On Purpose and Evolving) Center and Icahn School of Medicine (ISMMS) became formal collaborators to provide high-quality, culturally informed behavioral health services to residents of New York City. 

The HOPE Center is a community-based mental health center affiliated with the First Corinthian Baptist Church (8,000 members) in Central Harlem. The Center provides sessions of evidence-based psychotherapy including cognitive-behavioral therapy and interpersonal psychotherapy in an effort to directly impact vast mental health and substance use disorder needs and promote health and wellness free of charge to individuals, couples, and families in Harlem.

About Brothers=Connect

Brothers=Connect project is an upstream suicide prevention program for Black male teens ages 13-19 in Youth Basketball Leagues (i.e., YMCA), Boys & Girls Clubs, and other community-based organizations across New York City. The program is in response to the startling rise in suicidal behavior among Black male teenagers in New York State. 

About HAVEN=Connect

HAVEN=Connect is an upstream suicide prevention program in predominantly Black churches in New York state. The Black church is a strategically ideal location for mental health interventions because it remains one of the most influential institutions in the Black community and is a context that already supports psychological well-being and reinforces help-seeking behavior.

• Bachelors degree required, or equivalent education and work experience
• None required, 1 year of experience with a focus on community engagement is preferred
• Be knowledgeable and experienced working with faith-based, urban, and Black American communities 
• Experience working with youth sports leagues, which may include basketball teams, Boys & Girls Clubs, and other community-based agencies focused on Black youth
• Have exceptional communication and interpersonal skills; and the ability to adapt communication styles 
• Be experienced and comfortable working with people from diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds 
• Be familiar with the socio-cultural factors that contribute to health disparities 
• Have experience engaging people virtually and in-person 
• Have knowledge and experience with social media platforms and websites 
• Treat fellow community members with professional courtesy, patience, and respect