The Peer Counselor serves as a System Navigator at the Behavioral Health Services (BHS) building (1380 Howard Street), providing assistance and support to visitors and clients coming in for services. By using a trauma-informed, non-judgmental approach, the Peer Counselor helps create a safe and healthy setting for clients to access on-site care and referrals to community-based resources for mental health and substance use services.
Job Duties
Essential Job Duties include, but are not limited to:
Serve as the first point of contact for clients seeking services at the Behavioral Health Services (BHS) building. May be required to greet visitors at the front entrance, which means occasional standing and walking.
Coordinate with a partner to manage high-traffic reception area, ensuring all visitors and staff are attended to while also monitoring for safety and welfare of the lobby.
Help to establish a welcoming environment in the reception area, and engage visitors, clients, and staff with a friendly and helpful demeanor. Arrange flyers and resource sheets for clients to access.
Manage daily sign-in sheets to monitor visitor traffic coming in and out of the building.
Use peer counseling skills, including rapport-building, motivational interviewing, and harm reduction approaches to engage visitors who may be experiencing mental health issues, alcohol and/or drug use, poverty, homelessness, and/or other barriers to stability and employment.
Skillfully engage visitors who may be unstable and direct them to an appropriate provider for further care. Partner with other on-site program and security staff to help de-escalate situations, as needed. Ongoing support and training for these skills will be provided.
Collaborate as a team under the guidance of program supervisor, joining monthly staff meetings and communicating by email and phone.
Maintain a detailed incident log to record daily activity. Coordinate with Site Supervisor to communicate incidences and determine best practices for maintaining a safe lobby area.
Assist in emergency building procedures as detailed by Behavioral Health Services (BHS) and Behavioral Health Access Center (BHAC) Operations Teams.
Help to maintain and organize the lobby/reception area so that it feels comfortable, clean and inviting for visitors.
Receive phone calls to the building and direct calls accordingly.
Under direction of site supervisor, may be asked to perform additional clerical support functions.
Perform other duties as assigned.
Minimum Required Qualifications
At least a High School Diploma, or equivalent (GED, CHSPE Certificate), REQUIRED. Associate of Arts (AA) degree or higher from an accredited institution, very strongly preferred
At least 3-5 years of direct personal “lived” experience with the community behavioral health system, REQUIRED
Ability to physically move around the lobby area to assist visitors and clients.
Basic skills in utilizing technology including computers and phone systems. Developmental training to enhance skills is available.
Other Preferred Qualifications
Completion of a mental health certificate program or equivalent education, very strongly preferred & will be prioritized
Two years of peer counseling or related experience, particularly working with diverse constituencies, very strongly preferred & will be prioritized
Training in Workplace Safety and De-escalation techniques, or experience working in a high-traffic environment strongly preferred.
Applicants with ability to provide bilingual & culturally competent services in Spanish, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Russian, or Tagalog, highly preferred due to needs of the populations served
Ability to multi-task and make safe decisions in a fast-paced environment
Familiarity &/or experience working/interacting 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, very strongly preferred and will be prioritized
Demonstrated knowledge & experience working with San Francisco community resources/services (including health, mental health, substance abuse, vocational, housing, food, etc.) very strongly preferred and will be prioritized
Familiarity with Wellness and Recovery Model, the Supportive Employment Model, and other evidenced based practices such as Wellness-Recovery Action Planning (WRAP), Seeking Safety, self-help, etc, very strongly preferred and will be prioritized
Familiarity & experience working in a dynamic, activity-based, center milieu is a plus
Knowledge &/or experience with service delivery documentation (including service planning) and HIPAA standards is a plus
Seniority level
Mid-Senior level
Employment type
Part-time
Job function
Other
Industries
Mental Health Care
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