On-Call HOST Coverage Support

Description

Pay Rate: $50 per hour

Benefits: Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Safe & Sick Time, 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

The On-Call Coverage Support for HOST is an on-call position that is part of a multi-disciplinary team serving homeless adults experiencing severe and persistent mental illness and co-occurring disorders. The HOST 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 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 On Call HOST Coverage Support position will focus on providing client engagement, support and helps facilitate ongoing services to all HOST clients at one of DESC’s drop-in clinic locations. This position requires a high degree of coordination and collaboration with other DESC programs as well as outside agencies to ensure successful ongoing care. 

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Drop In Engagement

• Provide a friendly, therapeutic, welcoming presence for all clients receiving engagement services in our drop-in Clinic. 
• Provide survival resources, hygiene products, and harm reduction supplies to meet basic needs and build rapport, as appropriate.   
• Interact with general client population, intervene in crisis situations with individual clients and utilize appropriate de-escalation techniques when needed.  
• Develop and maintain cooperative relationships with all clinical programs operating out of the drop-in clinic providing services for homeless and mentally ill persons. 
• Participate in community engagement within the scope of this position regarding the needs of DESC clients with mental illness/co-occurring disorders. 
• Participate as a member of a multi-disciplinary team of clinical, outreach, medical, peer support, and substance use specialists to provide liaison services focused on stabilization and transition to long-term behavioral health or other appropriate ongoing services. 
• Develop and maintain strong collaborative relationships with other DESC staff and other service and resource organizations to ensure full continuity of care for clients. 
• Distributing client payee funds and assisting with administrative tasks related to DESC payee services. 
• Effective communication across multiple platforms promptly, understanding that this role requires immediate response times. 
• Serving as a liaison between assigned Case Manager and Client with HOST registration and intake forms as needed. 
• Be able to complete documentation associated with providing direct client drop-in services by end of shift.  
• Maintain a clean and orderly supply area in the HOST office, which will include but is not limited to: transporting client items, replenishing supply areas, retrieving and carrying boxes from/to various locations on/off site, organizing and restocking client survival/resource areas etc.

OTHER DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Participate in psychiatric consultation, supervision, program meetings, and in-service trainings; participate in clinical reviews and case conferences for HOST clients. 
• 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.

Requirements

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Relevant Bachelor’s degree in social work, psychology, or related behavioral science, OR  
• A combination of 1 year of relevant paid work experience and demonstration of the ability to perform required job duties.
• Ability to meet Washington Department of Health requirements for registration as a Registered Agency Affiliated Counselor (AAC) or any other superseding credential.
• Flexibility to work either shift times – 9am-2pm or 12pm-5pm. 
• Interest in working with clients who are difficult to engage and maintain in traditional mental health/substance use disorder programs. 
• Knowledge of Recovery-focused, strengths-based work in mental health. 
• Knowledge of Harm Reduction strategies. 
• Ability to work effectively with clients displaying a wide range of unpleasant and/or bizarre behaviors. 
• 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. 
• Knowledge of de-escalation skills, crisis intervention & stabilization.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• 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. 
• Experience working with adults who are experiencing or who have experienced homelessness, have a mental illness and/or co-occurring substance use disorders. 
• Bi-cultural background/experience. 
• Bi-lingual English/Spanish. 
• 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 to sit, communicate with other employees, 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.