Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner - The Night Ministry

The Night Ministry is a Chicago based organization whose mission is to provide human connection, housing support, and health care to members of our community who are unhoused or experiencing poverty. We've successfully provided these lifesaving services for 45 plus years, everyday providing a lifeline to our most vulnerable neighbors. We serve everyone without concern for race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity. With an open heart, we compassionately accept each individual as they are and work alongside them to advocate for their immediate physical, emotional, and social needs while affirming our shared humanity.

As a member of The Night Ministry team, you can look forward to engaging and compelling work, building dynamic professional relationships with staff, volunteers, and our broad base of supporters. While also knowing you are making a meaningful impact on those who we serve. Employees of The Night Ministry come from a wide variety of backgrounds, representing different ethnicities, educational levels, skills, religious affiliations, spiritual traditions, and sexual orientations. Their commonality is their dedication to improving the lives of those who are homeless, at-risk for homelessness, or otherwise under-served. Although not all employees are involved in direct services, everyone is dedicated to the mission of The Night Ministry, believes in its core values, and knows that their work is highly valued.

Position Summary:

Provide psychiatric health care, education, and prevention services at The Night Ministry across various locations, including but not limited to youth housing shelters, the Street Medicine Team, Health Outreach Bus, and CTA program, with flexibility to adapt to changing service locations. Support the mission and goals of The Night Ministry by offering hospitality, health education, and assessments, as well as counseling, medical treatment, and referrals for further appropriate care to individuals experiencing homelessness or lacking access to adequate health care.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the development of a mental health services program tailored for unhoused individuals in nontraditional clinical settings.
• Provide psychiatric health care services across various outreach platforms.
• Conduct history and physical (H&P) assessments and intake evaluations at youth programs.
• Administer Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorders and support clients in maintaining treatment for all substance use disorders.
• Ensure accurate and timely data entry in both external and internal databases, such as Electronic Health Records (EHR) and Efforts to Outcomes (ETO). Maintain documentation of health-related activities and other services in compliance with funding and accreditation requirements.
• Develop referral pathways and partnerships to facilitate warm handoffs to brick-and-mortar clinics for clients needing additional care.
• Provide referrals for psychiatric, primary, and specialty care as needed.
• Coordinate with team members to set up, load, and break down supplies for outreach shifts.
• Travel to outreach settings, including shelters, food pantries, soup kitchens, and other community partners across the city.
• Participate in required internal and external trainings.
• Supervise medical or nursing students and/or volunteers as needed.
• Attend department, agency, and inter-agency meetings as required.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Position Qualifications:

• Must possess an Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Certification (PMHNP-BC)
• Possess DEA license or willing to obtain one.
• Minimum 5 years' nursing experience.
• Demonstrated experience in counseling patients/clients.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Ability to react quickly in emergency situations; demonstrated "street smarts".
• Physically able and willing to work in various settings, including outdoors; this position requires riding the Health Outreach Bus for Bus shifts and vans for Street Medicine and/or the CTA.
• Familiarity with referral sources.
• Current driver's license and good driving record; access to reliable personal transportation.
• Must have scheduling flexibility including availability on evenings, late nights, and weekends.
• Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment committed to fulfilling the mission, supporting each other, and having fun along the way.
• Must be available evenings and weekends.

Additional Information:

Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, sit, reach with hands and arms, climb or balance, and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee frequently is required to use hands or fingers, handle or feel objects, tools or controls. The employee is regularly required to talk or listen. The employee must occasionally drive an automobile and the outreach bus; and lift and/or move 20 pounds.

Benefits: Full-time staff are entitled to full benefits after 30 days of employment, including medical, dental, vision, 401k, and more, starting 30 days after their employment commences.

Our Anti-Racist Organization Statement

The Night Ministry is committed to racial equity in its services, its organizational structure, and its policies and procedures. Given that the majority of those whom The Night Ministry serves and most of our staff are people of color, we must center racial equity in our day-to-day operations as well as in our strategic planning and take deliberate and thoughtful action to become an anti-racist organization.

Through this work, we will identify and dismantle institutional racism that exists within our organization. We will empower staff, clients, and partners with the tools and support to disrupt white supremacy within the confines of the agency and within the spheres in which we operate. We commit to the ongoing, collective assessment of where we are as an organization and where we want to be while formulating and taking the necessary steps to get there. We call upon all members of our community, from staff, volunteers, and supporters to our clients, to engage with us on our commitment to anti-racism.