Greenville Together: Behavioral and Medical Health Outreach Specialist in Greenville, South Carolina at United Way of Greenville

Greenville's United Effort to Functionally End Homelessness

Greenville Together: A Home for All is a coordinated, community-wide initiativehosted by United Way of Greenville Countycommitted to functionally ending homelessness in Greenville. Our goal is to prevent homelessness whenever possible, and when it does occur, ensure it is rare, brief, and non-recurring through a comprehensive, systems-level response.

Reports To: Street Outreach Program Manager

Key Responsibilities

Outreach and Engagement (35%)

• Assist with crisis de-escalation in the field using trauma-informed, person-centered, and harm-reduction approaches.

• Help bridge communication between healthcare systems and homeless service providers to reduce barriers, duplication, and gaps in care.

• Conduct proactive, street-based outreach throughout Greenville's downtown corridor and surrounding areas, including during evening and weekend hours.

• Utilize trauma-informed care, crisis-intervention training, motivational interviewing, and person-centered practices to build trust and rapport with individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness.

• Provide immediate assistance to meet basic needs (food, water, clothing, hygiene kits) and ensure safety in crisis situations.

• Perform housing-focused assessments, including completion of Coordinated Entry intake processes and vulnerability assessments (e.g., VI-SPDAT).

• Engage individuals in ongoing conversations about housing and services, offering repeated opportunities for connection and assistance.

• Provide follow-up support to help individuals remain connected to care and reduce unnecessary emergency room use, hospitalization, or crisis involvement.

Medical, Housing, and Service Coordination (35%)

• Provide field-based behavioral health and healthcare navigation support to individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness, housing instability, behavioral health needs, substance use challenges, and/or chronic health conditions.

• Conduct basic behavioral health and healthcare screenings to identify immediate needs, safety concerns, barriers to care, and appropriate referral pathways.

• Build trusting, trauma-informed relationships with individuals who may be disconnected from traditional healthcare, behavioral health, and social service systems and support individuals in accessing healthcare coverage, benefits, prescriptions, appointments, transportation, identification documents, and other resources needed to engage in care.

• Participate in case conferencing to help develop individualized service plans for people with complex medical, behavioral health, and housing needs.

• Support individuals transitioning from hospitals, crisis facilities, shelters, encampments, or unsheltered settings into housing, treatment, or other supportive services.

• Advocate for client needs within healthcare and behavioral health systems while promoting client choice, dignity, and self-determination.

• Identify trends and systemic barriers related to healthcare access, behavioral health care, medication access, transportation, and discharge planning.

• Conduct warm handoffs and, when appropriate, accompany participants to appointments or housing viewings to ensure continuity of care.

• Work collaboratively with Greenville Together partners to identify outreach hotspots and coordinate shared response strategies.

Collaboration and Community Partnership (20%)

• Partner with outreach teams, housing navigators, case managers, hospitals, law enforcement, EMS, shelters, and community providers to support coordinated care for high-need individuals.

• Maintain knowledge of local behavioral health, healthcare, substance use, crisis response, and supportive housing resources.

• Respond to outreach requests received through the dedicated Greenville Together homeless outreach call line and coordinate with responding partners for timely follow-up.

• Participate in regular team meetings and cross-agency coordination sessions to share updates, trends, and insights that inform outreach strategy.

• Represent Greenville Together in a professional and compassionate manner, strengthening community trust and collaboration.

Data, Documentation, and Accountability (10%)

• Track client needs, referrals, service connections, follow-up appointments, and care coordination activities in HMIS or other required data systems.

• Accurately document all outreach encounters, service connections, and housing outcomes.

• Contribute to Greenville Together's shared data reporting, supporting systemwide transparency and continuous improvement.

• Maintain confidentiality and comply with all privacy, ethical, and data security requirements.

• Track trends, identify gaps, and recommend improvements to outreach and engagement strategies

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in social work, public health, psychology, human services, counseling, nursing, healthcare administration, or a related field preferred.

• Knowledge of local social service networks, housing systems, and resources in Greenville County preferred.

• Ability to work independently, manage multiple priorities, and adapt to dynamic situations wish Strong documentation skills and ability to maintain accurate, timely, and confidential client records.

• Experience working with individuals experiencing homelessness, serious mental illness, substance use disorders, trauma, chronic health conditions, or complex social needs strongly preferred.

• Knowledge of behavioral health systems, healthcare navigation, crisis response, harm reduction, trauma-informed care, and person-centered service delivery.

• Ability to engage individuals in non-traditional settings, including encampments, streets, shelters, hospitals, community spaces, and other outreach environments.

• Ability to work collaboratively with healthcare providers, behavioral health agencies, outreach teams, housing providers, law enforcement, EMS, and other community partners.

• Understanding of HIPAA, client confidentiality, mandated reporting, professional boundaries, and ethical service delivery.

• Lived experience with homelessness, behavioral health recovery, healthcare navigation, or related systems is valued.

• Valid driver's license, reliable transportation, and willingness to conduct field-based work required including evenings and weekends.

• Strong crisis de-escalation, motivational interviewing, rapport-building, and conflict resolution skills preferred.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER