Odyssey House INC·New York
The Peer Outreach Worker engages with community members in high-need areas to provide harm reduction materials, overdose prevention education, and support services. They also assist clients with navigating essential resources such as housing, treatment, and benefits through field-based outreach.
TITLE: Peer Outreach Worker
Reports to: Bronx Street Outreach
Flsa code: Full-time, 35 hours per week
Bronx Street Outreach Program - 953 Southern Blvd. Bronx, NY 10459
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Since 1967, Odyssey House has been providing innovative services and programs to a broad population of individuals and families struggling with substance use and mental health disorders. Odyssey House helps New Yorkers of all ages—and across all five boroughs—beat drugs and alcohol with highly individualized treatment programs. Odyssey House provides high quality, holistic treatment impacting all major life spheres, including psychological, physical, social, family, educational and spiritual in order to support personal rehabilitation, renewal and family restoration.
If that sounds different than other treatment programs, you’re right. Because Odyssey is where recovery gets real.
Peer Outreach Workers play a central role in Odyssey House’s Bronx Street Outreach Program, using lived experience to build trust, reduce harm, and connect individuals with lifesaving services. Working in high-need Bronx neighborhoods, Peer Outreach Workers provide compassionate, low-threshold support and linkages to treatment, housing, mental health, and other essential resources.
Description of Duties and Responsibilities.
Engage PWUD and community members in parks, encampments, transit hubs, shelters, and other high-need areas.
Distribute naloxone, fentanyl/xylazine test strips, sterile supplies, first aid kits, hygiene kits, and other harm reduction materials.
Provide overdose prevention education and train individuals and families in naloxone administration.
Offer peer support, motivational interviewing, and trauma-informed engagement strategies to build trust.
Support clients with navigation of Medicaid, housing, benefits, and treatment referrals, including warm handoffs and accompaniment to appointments.
Conduct field-based behavioral health screenings (e.g., PHQ-9, GAD-7) and refer clients to appropriate providers.
Maintain accurate outreach records and ensure timely documentation of encounters, referrals, and outcomes.
Collaborate with community partners to expand access to harm reduction and treatment services
Participate in ongoing training, group supervision, and reflective practice sessions.
Qualifications: for Position:
1. Must have lived experience with substance use, recovery, and/or harm reduction. 2. Certified Recovery Peer Advocate (CRPA) credential or CRPA-P is required. 3. Previous experience in street outreach, harm reduction services, or peer navigation is strongly preferred.
Strong skills in trauma-informed care, harm reduction practices, overdose prevention, and motivational interviewing are essential, along with the ability to engage clients with empathy and respect. Knowledge of community resources and benefits navigation is preferred, and bilingual ability is strongly valued.
Regular local travel required, valid NYS driver’s license strongly preferred.
Odyssey House is an equal opportunity employer maintaining a non-discriminatory policy on hiring of its personnel. Odyssey House, and its operational divisions, will not discriminate against any employee or applicant because of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, disability, marital status, sexual orientation or citizen status in all employment decisions including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, upgrading, demotion, downgrading, transfer, training, rate of pay or other forms of compensation, layoff, termination and all other terms and conditions of employment.
Market context
Behavioral health roles in New York are often in steady demand, especially for clinicians who can support diverse age groups and handle assessments or admissions. These positions can be competitive because employers commonly look for independent licensure, while also considering associate-level candidates with clear growth toward full licensure. Review the AI-summarized requirements and benefits here to save time, then confirm your licensure status and assessment experience before applying.
