Mental Health Peer Specialist - HOST

Shift: Office Day (9am - 5pm)

Days Off: Saturday, Sunday

Insurance Benefits: Dental, Life, Long-term Disability, Medical (no premiums/payroll deductions for employee coverage)

Other Benefits: Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Flexible Spending Account (FSA), ORCA card subsidy, Paid Time Off (34 days per year), Retirement Plan

Union Representation: This position is a part of a union and is represented by SEIU Healthcare 1199NW.

About DESC:

DESC (Downtown Emergency Service Center) is a nonprofit organization working to help people with the complex needs of homelessness, substance use disorders, and serious mental illness achieve their highest potential for health and well-being through comprehensive services, treatment, and housing. Our vision is a community where no person is abandoned, ignored, or experiencing homelessness.

As the region's leading provider of services to multiply disabled adults who have experienced chronic homelessness, DESC serves almost 3,000 people each day. Our integrated service model is designed to help people secure and maintain appropriate, safe, and affordable housing. DESC is recognized nationally and regionally as an innovator in developing solutions to homelessness.

JOB DEFINITION:

Homeless Outreach Stabilization and Transition (HOST) is a multi-disciplinary team serving homeless adults experiencing severe and persistent mental illness and co-occurring disorders. The team prioritizes services to those who are highly vulnerable, lack service connections or other support, and are unwilling or unable to engage in traditional service models. The team works throughout the greater Seattle area to provide critical survival services and engagement with the ultimate goal of addressing acute mental and physical health needs, increasing stability, obtaining housing, and transitioning to long-term services. Referrals to this program will often include individuals with a history of involuntary detainments or observable behavioral health challenges, they often will not endorse a mental health or substance use issue, or have the insight into the impact of their well-being and access to care and resources.

The HOST Mental Health Peer Specialist uses their lived experience of recovery from mental illness and/or substance use and addiction, plus skills learned in formal training, to assertively engage HOST clients into intensive services. This position requires a high degree of coordination and collaboration with other DESC programs as well as outside agencies. This role is supervised by a HOST/Pathfinder Clinical Supervisor who will consult with the SAGE Peer Supervisors as needed for peer supervision support and resources. A condition of employment is completion of the Washington State Peer Counselor Training and obtaining certification within one year of employment at DESC.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Participate as a member of a multi-disciplinary team of clinical, outreach, medical, peer support, and intensive case management staff to provide a variety of services focused on stabilization and transition to long-term behavioral health or other appropriate ongoing services.
• Provide outreach and engagement services as assigned, in clinic, on the streets, shelters, encampments, DESC projects, and other community areas. On occasion, services may be provided in outlying King County areas.
• Identify individuals in need, screen for appropriateness to services, develop rapport and trust while offering support, and assist with immediate and basic needs to individuals who are homeless. Efforts are balanced between initial outreach and follow-up activity.
• Assist in obtaining and coordinating services, including services relating to daily living activities, personal financial planning, benefit enrollment, transportation, and case management. Link HOST clients to supportive and long-term resources, including behavioral, medical, and substance use treatment support and housing.
• Provide peer recovery support to HOST clients. Integrate personal experience with mental illness and/or substance use disorders into work with program participants.
• Assist consumers with voicing and identifying their interests and goals.
• Advocate for clients' access to community resources and services, ensuring that clients' needs are met and rights maintained; consult and collaborate with community providers to ensure continuity of care, facilitate linkages to collaborative resources when appropriate.
• Prioritize crisis intervention with clients as needed. This may include de-escalation, outreach in emergency departments, and/or making referrals to the County Designated Crisis Response system.
• Interact with general client population, intervene in crisis situations with individual clients and screen clients for HOST eligibility when appropriate.
• Participate in education of service community regarding the needs of homeless clients with mental illness/co-occurring disorders, techniques of engagement and service provision.
• Develop and maintain cooperative relationships with current programs providing services for homeless and mentally ill persons. Encourage development of new services.
• Develop and maintain strong collaborative relationships with DESC staff, and other service and resource organizations to ensure full continuity of care for clients.

OTHER DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Participate in psychiatric consultation, supervision, program meetings, and in service trainings; participate in clinical reviews and case conferences for clients on caseload.
• Comply with the agency's clinical accountability policies and procedures; maintain timely and complete clinical records; participate in quality assurance reviews when assigned.
• Comply with applicable program research and evaluation procedures.
• Other duties as assigned.

LIVING CONDITIONS:

Support your clients with achieving and maintaining healthy living conditions. This can include but is not limited to attending care conferences related to living conditions, outreaching and supporting clients in their residential units with tools and skills to maintain their units, coordinating with housing staff, participating in cleaning out clients’ units, and documenting barriers to maintaining healthy living conditions.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Ability to obtain Certified Peer Specialist certification from the Washington State Peer Counselor Training Program within 60 days of employment.
• Ability to meet Washington Department of Health requirements for registration as an Agency Affiliated Counselor (AAC) or any other superseding credential
• Lived experience as a consumer of behavioral health services (mental health and/or substance use treatment) or be the parent or legal guardian of a child who has received behavioral health services.
• Interest in working with clients who are difficult to engage and maintain in traditional mental health/substance use disorder programs.
• Ability to work effectively with clients displaying a wide range of unpleasant and/or bizarre behavior.
• Ability to communicate and work effectively with staff from various backgrounds.
• Subscribe to the philosophy of cooperation and continuity across programs and of consideration and respect for clients.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Has current Certified Peer Specialist certification from the Washington State Peer Counselor Training Program.
• Experience working with adults who are experiencing or who have experienced homelessness, have a mental illness and/or co-occurring substance use disorders.
• Knowledge of de-escalation skills, crisis intervention stabilization, and harm reduction strategies.
• Ability to drive an agency or personal vehicle to conduct agency related business, including a current Washington State driver's license and insurable driving record.
• Bi-cultural background/experience.
• Bi-lingual in Spanish/English or other languages.
• Strong knowledge of relevant community resources and methods for accessing them.

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 job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee will be required sit for long periods of time, communicate with other persons by talking and hearing, required to lift and carry items weighing up to 40 pounds and to operate computer hardware systems. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER:

DESC is committed to diversity in the workplace and promotes equal employment opportunities for all staff members and applicants. The Agency will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, marital status, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability in any employment practice, unless based on a bona fide occupational qualification. Minorities and veterans are encouraged to apply.