Peer Counselor (Street Based Care and Navigation)

RAMS Street-Based Care & Navigation services are a partnership between RAMS and the San Francisco Department of Public Health’s Behavioral Health Services (DPH-BHS) providing low-threshold care management services to clients. The team receives referrals from BHS to engage individuals living in shelters, navigation centers, safe sleep sites, and on the streets. The RAMS Street-Based Care & Navigation team assists clients who may not have been assessed yet for a higher level of care—or who may not yet be prepared to connect with clinic-based services—with care coordination, linkage and direct peer counseling support, including harm reduction services and motivational interviewing.

The Peer Counselor’s role in Street-Based Care & Navigation is critical in building rapport and emphasizing compassionate care to the individual as part of the engagement, utilizing one’s own counseling training and lived experience, as applicable, in establishing safety, building trust, and reducing trauma for the most vulnerable members of our San Francisco community.

Job Duties

Essential Job Duties may include, but are not limited to, any combination of these duties as required by the assigned department/unit:

• Provide trauma-informed, culturally responsive peer counseling services—specifically street-based peer support and resource linkage—to unhoused individuals in San Francisco
• Work collaboratively with other RAMS teams, DPH-BHS community partners, and other street-based and clinic-based support services as assigned by the team leader
• Function as the primary peer counselor for up to 25 individual clients while working in collaboration with colleagues and partners to provide low-barrier behavioral health peer support services and linkage to ongoing care when appropriate.
• Engage unhoused individuals in congregate and non-congregate shelters, navigation centers, safe sleep sites, other temporary shelter locations, and on the streets with the goal of building meaningful connections for the individual to support empowerment and connection to the community
• Work with other team members in quickly assessing the needs of identified clients, utilizing their own training, knowledge of multiple systems of care, and lived experience as applicable to help assist in the support of a client. The peer counselor will rely heavily on the Wellness & Recovery model, trauma informed principles, harm-reduction and de-escalation techniques as part of their intervention, as appropriate.
• Assist clients with attending medical, behavioral health, and social services appts. as needed.
• Assist clients with identifying needed community-based resources and reducing barriers to accessing these resources.
• Must have excellent communication skills and be able to navigate team dynamics and work with multi-disciplinary teams in a collaborative and cohesive approach.
• Utilizing various engagement tools to build rapport which can include offering small items such as coffee, snacks, clothing etc.
• Utilize safety training protocols while working in the community
• Document in the Electronic Health Record, use HIPAA-protected app based communication software, and train on other electronic platforms as required.
• Develop and maintain clear, open, timely, cooperative, and diplomatic communications and working relations with all staff, clients, and partner agencies
• Represent RAMS at various stakeholder meetings to provide feedback about best practices of street-based peer services and experiences of the roving team in their work under this project
• Participate in supervision meetings, case conferences, staff meetings, in-service training and other staff development activities
• Perform other duties as assigned
  
  

Minimum Required Qualifications

• At least a High School Diploma (or GED) required. Associate of Arts (AA) degree or higher from an accredited institution, highly preferred
• At least 1-2 years of direct personal experience with the community behavioral health system, preferably in San Francisco and at least 6 months of housing insecurity experience
• Completion of a mental health certificate program or equivalent education AND/OR at least two years of peer counseling or related experience, particularly working with diverse constituencies
• Demonstrated knowledge of the Wellness and Recovery Model, Harm Reduction, and other evidenced based practices such as Wellness-Recovery Action Planning (WRAP), Seeking Safety, and more
• Must be able to physically walk/stand in San Francisco neighborhoods up to 75% of any assigned shift, as applicable.
• Must be able to physically lift or carry items up to 25 lbs at a time, approximately 25% of the assigned shift
• Professional or lived experience working with people struggling with mental health conditions and alcohol or other drug misuse, homelessness
• Completion of a mental health certificate program or equivalent education
• Excellent communication and organization with the ability to present feedback in a positive and empowering manner
• Ability to organize, manage, and/or work effectively with diverse program staff, community partners, and behavioral health consumers
• Strong knowledge and experience with service delivery documentation (including counseling planning), HIPAA standards, utilization review, and data management
• Ability to maintain confidentiality at all times
  
  

Other Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience in outreach to targeted at-risk populations, very strongly preferred
• Familiarity with community behavioral health systems of care in San Francisco, including the philosophy of care, levels of care for clinical services, and the delivery of such services, highly preferred
• Familiarity with the San Francisco community resources/services (may include health, mental health, substance abuse, vocational, housing, etc.), highly preferred
• Strong commitment to the philosophy, goals, & mission of RAMS in providing community-based, culturally competent, and consumer-guided mental health services to the community
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively, function independently, and interact professionally with a diverse, multi-cultural, and interdisciplinary staff of all levels
• Ability to provide services in threshold language (Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Russian, Tagalog, Arabic) highly preferred but not required