Job Description

Days Off: Saturday, Sunday

Shift: Day

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

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 2,000 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:

Behavioral Health Response Team (BHRT) is a newer program for DESC and based on the behavioral response first outreach model. The Substance Use Counselor/Case Manager role works in collaboration with a Mental Health Professional (MHP), and Peer Navigator to provide a low-barrier response to the needs of the community regarding mental health, substance use or acute distress. This team will lessen the police first response and provide longer-term services to those in need. Those enrolled with services with this team do not need to have benefits or funding and ongoing case management is optional. BHRT Navigator Peer Specialists work in a culture in which each client\'s point of view and preferences are recognized, understood, respected, and integrated into treatment, recovery and community self-help activities. This position requires a high degree of coordination and collaboration with other DESC programs as well as outside agencies. A condition of employment is for this position is to have completed the Washington State Peer Counselor Training and be classified as a Certified Peer Specialist and must have two years working with co-occurring individuals in shelter, housing, outreach, or behavioral health clinics.

The BHRT will receive referrals from first responders, Mobile Crisis Team, and select social service agencies. This team will outreach a person in need of services to connect individuals experiencing mental health or substance use issues to more therapeutic treatment options, other than jail or the emergency room. We are working to stop the trend of criminalizing mental illness, and make sure individuals in mental health crisis get the help they need without involving additional police response. The team works throughout King County from region specific offices and in a wide variety of community settings and in all types of weather. This team will be able to offer connection and case management and will provide 30 days of intensive case management services. The team will maintain the option to provide an additional 2 months of coordination efforts using an outreach and engagement model, to ensure linkages to services and support in the community are achieved.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Perform alcohol and drug screenings, and assessments on selected clients; with the client\'s participation, develop support and treatment plans; facilitate linkages to collaborative resources when appropriate.
• Plan, organize and facilitate treatment and support groups for clients, as appropriate.
• Provide substance abuse consultation to BHRT team members, and when participating in case consults at housing sites.
• Provide staff training on substance abuse issues as appropriate.
• Participate as a member of a multi-disciplinary team providing ongoing advocacy and integration of services to mentally ill, substance use, homeless adults.
• Advocate for client access to community resources and services, ensuring that client needs are met and rights maintained; consult and collaborate with community providers to ensure continuity of care.
• Participate in psychiatric consultation, supervision, program meetings and in-service trainings; participate in clinical reviews and case conferences.
• Comply with the agency\'s clinical accountability policies and procedures; maintain current and complete clinical records; participate in quality assurance reviews when assigned.
• Comply with data gathering/submission requirements.
• Comply with applicable program research and evaluation procedures.
• Promote and maintain positive relationships with the surrounding neighborhood.
• Participate in verbal de-escalation and physical interventions in emergent situations and be willing and able to assist other staff as needed to maintain a safe and secure environment.
• Other duties as assigned.

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, caste, 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.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Licensed by the State of Washington as a Substance Use Disorder Professional (SUDP)
• Valid Washington State driver\'s license and insurable driving record.
• Be willing to seek to understand each client\'s unique circumstances and personal preferences and goals and incorporate them into the crisis response to help the client regain a sense of control.
• Assist clients in accessing internal resources to reinforce the client\'s ability to resolve crisis on their own.
• Assist clients in identifying unmet needs that may be causing them to have recurrent crisis.
• Have a strong understanding of recovery and resilience, the value of client partnerships and client choice, and the balance between protection from harm and personal dignity.
• Strong knowledge of relevant community resources and methods for accessing them.
• Possess strong communication and writing skills.
• Ability to work flexible hours as required by program and staffing needs.
• Interest or experience in working with clients who are difficult to engage and maintain in traditional mental health programs.
• Ability to work effectively with clients displaying a wide range of unpleasant and/or bizarre behaviors.
• Ability to communicate and work effectively with individuals from diverse backgrounds.
• Subscribe to the philosophy of cooperation and continuity across programs and of consideration and respect for clients.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Associates degree in a relevant social science.
• Knowledge of de-escalation skills, crisis intervention & stabilization, and harm reduction strategies.
• Bicultural and/or bilingual background/experience.
• Experience working with adults who have been homeless and/or disabled by mental illness.
• Strong applicants are able to demonstrate the ability to be positive in their empathetic responses to all persons; understand the value of meaningful and deep client engagement; have the potential to acquire the necessary knowledge, attitudes and skills of an effective crisis worker; and value a non-judgmental response to sensitive issues. Candidates should be able to accept feedback and work in a highly collaborative and potentially stressful environment.

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Downtown Emergency Service Center