Lead Triage Phone Specialist (LTPS)

Description

SCHEDULE: 40 hours, Monday-Friday, 10:00 am - 6:30 pm. On occasion, may include early mornings, nights and/or weekend hours. This position is non-essential in the event of a weather or other emergency. 

Pays $25.12 per hour DOE

LOCATION: 444 Harrison Ave, Boston, 170 Morton St, Boston, 363 Albany St, Boston, 891 Massachusetts Avenue, other PSI Shelter locations; some remote work available.

SUMMARY OF THE POSITION:

The Lead Triage Phone Specialist (LTPS) will engage individual and community referral callers for new shelter referrals, in a triage assessment process that is designed to determine a guest’s immediate level of need and assertively moves the guest to safe housing. The LTPS will be the first point of contact via telephone for individuals seeking shelter placements and will escalate calls requiring a more in-depth or in-person assessment to Triage clinicians or team supervisors. 

The LTPS will also be the first point of contact via telephone for community service providers, seeking to refer individuals to emergency shelter. During their calls with community referral sources, the LTPS will work to encourage these resources to coordinate care plans which do not rely on emergency shelter when other more appropriate medical and behavioral health services should be explored and utilized, and will provide information regarding those alternative services to callers. The LTPS will also receive and respond directly to referrals or requests from funders or external stakeholders and at times may need to provide shorter term, higher intensity service coordination which could include some in-person work with referrals or callers. The LTPS will exercise good judgement when prioritizing one’s own work and when elevating concerns or inquiries up to Triage Management team.

On an as-needed basis, the LTPS will conduct in-person intake assessments of individuals seeking shelter. The LTPS will ensure the guest understands the importance of a limited stay in emergency shelter. The LTPS establishes the foundation for the guest’s work towards a more permanent housing solution – this will include defining action plans focused on eliminating housing barriers to facilitate triage toward housing placement within the first 30 days of Shelter.

 

The LTPS will work within a best practice framework of Harm Reduction, Motivational Interviewing and Trauma-Informed Care and, whenever possible, will provide support toward family reunification and mitigating barriers to securing alternative options for safe housing. 

 If diversion is not possible or appropriate, the LTPS will conduct an initial guest intake and refer the guest for further assessment by another Triage team member. The LTPS will frame all requests for shelter in the context of ensuring a limited stay in emergency shelter, and establishing the foundation for the guest’s work towards a more permanent housing solution – this will include triage housing placement within the first 30 days of Shelter.
 

The LTPS will provide exceptional customer service both internally and externally and will work in partnership with case management teams to provide integrated service delivery which furthers our mission to eliminate homelessness. The LTPS will work under tight timeframes for accurately entering guest information into Pine Street Inn’s approved Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and internal data tracking systems.  Attention to detail and accuracy is critical in this position. In addition to recording work in data systems, the LTSP will also monitor, recognize and appropriately notify Supervisor and Associate Director of any emerging trends, system gaps or issues. The WLTS will also collect bed stay and phone data and publish it to the appropriate databases and designated PSI sources. 

The LTPS may be asked to assist with training or creating program materials to support phone calls handled throughout the department. 

The Lead Triage Phone Specialist will work from the following principles:

• Shelter is a temporary safety net, not a home. The LTSP must assertively motivate guests them to seek better alternatives using best practices.
• All people experiencing homelessness, regardless of their housing history and duration of homelessness, can achieve housing stability in permanent housing.
• Never warehouse or institutionalize our guests in our shelters.
• Everyone is “housing ready.” Sobriety, compliance in treatment, or even a clean criminal history is not necessary to succeed in housing. Rather, homelessness programs and housing providers must be “consumer ready”.
• Leverage guests’ strengths, assets, and connections to move quickly out of shelters and to any other housing.
• Recognize the impact of violence and victimization on development and coping strategies.
• Employ an empowerment model.
• Maximize guest choices and control over her/his recovery based in a relational collaboration.
• Create an atmosphere that is respectful of the guests’ need for safety, respect, and acceptance.
• Emphasize the guests’ strengths, highlighting adaptations over symptoms and resilience over pathology. 
• Minimize the possibilities of re-traumatization.
• Strive to be culturally competent and to understand each person in the context of his or her life experiences and cultural background.
• Solicit guest input and involve guests in designing and evaluating services.

Requirements

EDUCATION/TRAINING:

REQUIRED: 

• Associate’s degree in a human service related field; or High School Diploma with a minimum of two (2) years of equivalent experience in a social service setting
• Strong computer and math skills, including familiarity with MS Word, Excel and ability to learn and successfully use MIS & HMIS programs

PREFERRED: 

• • Certification, training, or formal education in counseling and/or case management 
• • Bi-lingual – Spanish/English
• • Valid Massachusetts Driver’s License and ability to meet PSI Safe Driving criteria 

KNOWLEDGE/EXPERIENCE:

REQUIRED: 

• Minimum of two (2) years’ experience delivering services to a challenged population often struggling with addiction and untreated or under-treated mental health concerns
• Working knowledge of local resources available to Boston’s homeless population
• Working Knowledge of Housing First and Rapid Rehousing
• Knowledge of the issues related to homelessness
• Excellent listening and speaking skills
• Excellent telephone customer service skills
• Excellent ability to re-direct callers to appropriate resources, and to tailor verbal communication to the needs and ability of the caller
• Strong multi-tasking and note-taking skills for post-call follow up and documentation
• Strong written communication skills

PREFERRED: 

• Practical experience in client assessment, diversion, mediation, negotiation, Motivational Interviewing, Trauma- informed Care, Crisis Prevention and Intervention, household budgeting, and service planning, recovery services – including mental health, substance use/abuse and traumatic brain injury
• Minimum of two (2) years’ experience in a triage or intake position