Description

Shift: Swing (4:30 PM to 12:00 AM)

Days Off: Monday, Tuesday

Shift Differential: $0.50 per hour

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:

Recognized nationally as an innovator and leader in developing solutions to homelessness, DESC is a social services organization, supportive housing operator, and licensed behavioral health treatment provider focused on meeting the needs of people experiencing long-term homelessness and living with complex behavioral health and other medical conditions. Approximately 3,000 people are actively receiving services from DESC at any given point in time. Our vision is a community where all people are shown compassion, treated with dignity, and everyone has a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home.

DESC operates five shelter/emergency housing programs, 19 permanent supportive housing facilities with over 1,750 units, several hundred additional scattered site apartments, and a range of behavioral health services including outpatient mental health and substance use disorder treatment, residential crisis stabilization, street outreach, mobile crisis response, and treatment for opioid use disorder.

JOB DEFINITION:

We are looking for a Client Engagement Specialist (CES) who will work within the larger Client Engagement Team spanning three locations: Hobson Clinic, the DESC Pioneer Square clinics, and the STAR Center.

Hobson Clinic is an integrated behavioral and physical health outpatient clinic jointly operated by DESC and Harborview Medical Center (HMC). The Clinic provides holistic health care services to thousands of community members annually with a focus on improving health care access for people who have experienced barriers to conventional health services. The Clinic specializes in serving people living on lower incomes, people living homeless, and people living with complex physical and mental health conditions and substance use disorders.

The Pioneer Square clinics are two clinics operated by DESC that support a variety of clinical staff and programs ranging from outpatient behavioral health, substance disorder treatment, supportive employment, medical, and drop-in services. The clinical programs located in Pioneer Square serve a myriad of clients daily to address complex needs related to their mental and physical health. 

The STAR (Stability Through Access and Resources) Center is a time-limited, 24/7, behavioral health-focused non-congregate shelter program. Services at the Center are tailored for unsheltered adults facing significant untreated and undertreated challenges related to mental health and substance use disorders. The center is located at 619 3rd Avenue and Cherry Street in downtown Seattle

The CES team will be the point people to monitor and provide 24/7 safety and security at the STAR Center by managing the milieu outside and inside of the Shelter. The CES team will also be tasked with providing trauma-informed support to clients at the STAR Center and Pioneer Square by employing various de-escalation skills while in coordination and consultation with the wider STAR Center staff, clinical, and medical teams.    

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• To be present in all main operating areas of Hobson Place, 216 James, and STAR Center for client engagement and de-escalation purposes. Be a welcoming presence and direct clients to the services they are seeking, at times escorting to designated area and walking regular rounds in both low and high-risk areas of the clinic, Hobson Place, 216 James, STAR Center and 600 block of 3rd Ave, including the area immediately outside of the clinic.
• Monitor the general milieu outside the Hobson Clinic, 216 James Clinic, STAR center and the 500 and 600 blocks of 3rd Ave.
• Work to maintain a comfortable atmosphere for people along 3rd Ave, even in the presence of potentially unusual or posturing client behaviors.
• Proactively engage clients and community members in the public spaces on and around 3rd Ave. in front of Hobson Clinic, 216 James St, and the STAR Center.
• Coordinate real-time intervention for crises both in and around DESC spaces.
• Enforce the DESC Good Neighbor policy and Project/Program rules with DESC Clients.
• Initiate and maintain appropriate social interactions with clients and prospective clients.
• Integrate experience with behavioral health and substance use conditions into work with clients and prospective clients.
• Commitment to the Harm Reduction and Trauma Informed Care models and working to incorporate those principles through an equity and social justice lens.
• Become a DESC trainer for de-escalation and dis-engagement for new employees and yearly refresher; this responsibility will be shared with another trainer within the agency.
• Assist in training clinic staff on de-escalation skills and leading crisis response drills.
• Receive training in hands on techniques (escorts and holds) and work in collaboration with partnering agency security to ensure the safety of clients is made a priority.
• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, applying to all areas of work responsibility.
• Intervene when necessary to support clients, maintain order, and communicate/enforce clinic rules and policies.
• Intervene in client crises and emergencies (medical, behavioral health, interpersonal), participate in verbal de-escalation and hands-on escorts and holds in emergent situations, and initiate action as required, including contact with emergency response systems, and facilitating a higher level of care.
• Write a shift summary log detailing significant events involving clients and clinic operations, read log daily, participate in shift brief, complete activity logs and other shift-related documentation, and coordinate with relevant staff to ensure all required documentation is completed.
• In collaboration with an interdisciplinary team, promote a safe and secure clinic environment by responding to emergent safety issues using a collaborative active response approach.
• Participate in clinical reviews and case conferences to develop personal success plans for clients as needed. Assist clinical staff in engaging clients through creative, resourceful strategies that build trust and confidence.
• Participate in bar review committee and, psych consults as needed.
• Lead critical incident debriefs and work in coordination with clinical Director and Managers to provide support to staff related to safety issues upon request.
• Help ensure cleanliness of sidewalks.
• Participate in staff meetings, team huddles, and training, with both DESC and HMC staff.
• Wear agency-provided clothing that makes you easily identifiable in the community as a DESC employee.
• Other responsibilities as assigned.

Requirements

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience working with behavioral health conditions and intervening with de-escalation and hands-on approaches using Crisis Prevention & Intervention (CPI) or the equivalent and must be familiar with behavioral health treatment services.
• Willingness to become certified in enhanced behavioral de-escalation training, which trains to use hands on techniques.
• Willingness to use training in de-escalation and disengagement to intervene with clients that are posturing or assaultive.
• Experience in human services (paid or volunteer), preferably working with adults living homeless and/or living with a mental illness and/or substance use disorder.
• Experience working and building rapport with people in a psychiatric crisis.
• Proficient in de-escalation skills, crisis intervention, and stabilization strategies and possess the ability to use these skills in high-risk, high traffic areas.
• Have a strong understanding of recovery and resilience, the value of client partnerships, and client choice. Interest or experience in working with clients that traditional health care programs have turned away.
• Ability to communicate and work effectively with clients and staff from various backgrounds and utilize good customer service skills.
• Ability to work effectively with clients potentially displaying unusual and bizarre behaviors.
• Subscribe to the philosophy of working in an integrated team approach which fosters cooperation and continuity across programs and of consideration and respect for clients.
• Have experience working in collaboration with law enforcement, and neighborhood stakeholders that do not always agree with the harm reduction, trauma informed, or person-centered work philosophy.
• Able to prioritize multiple job responsibilities, work independently, and exercise good professional judgment.
• Able to maintain client confidentiality.
• Ability to pass criminal background check.
• Ability to drive an agency or personal vehicle to conduct agency related business. A current Washington State driver's license and insurable driving record are required.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Has work experience as an Emergency Medical Technician or Psych Technician in the field.
• Bilingual in English and Spanish.
• Bi-cultural background/experience.
• Skill in operating office equipment, including computers, communication platforms, software (e.g., Microsoft Word, Excel), and telephones.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:

1. Relevant Bachelor’s degree in social work, psychology, or related behavioral science, OR  
2. A combination of 1 year* of relevant paid work experience and demonstration of the ability to perform required job duties  

*Internal applicants in direct, client facing positions can substitute 6 months of experience in lieu of 1 year

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 accommodation 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.

WORKING CONDITIONS:

Works both indoors in a climate-controlled office environment with frequent interpersonal interactions and primarily outdoors in variable weather with frequent interpersonal interactions. May escort clients or have professional meetings in environments which are not climate controlled. Also works outside of the office in homeless camps and in a vehicle.

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.