The pay for this position is $23-$25 per hour.
Join a company that has been named one of Vermont's best places to work for SIX years in a row!!The below duties or working procedures describe the chief functions of the job. They are not considered a detailed description of every duty of the job. The job description is intended to be dynamic in nature, subject to addition or deletion as required by programmatic changes and community needs.
Whenever the term "crisis" is used in this document it is meant as a shorthand way of referring to situations or experiences that are identified as such by the individual(s) experiencing it (though they may choose to use other language), and isn't meant to imply a universal concept of what crisis means or what it looks like.
Position Purpose: Mobile crisis services give community members in Vermont the opportunity to access immediate voluntary support when they are in a crisis related to emotional distress or substance use. Mobile Crisis Peer Support Advocates will serve as part of the two-person team that responds to these requests for support, alongside an assessing provider on the HCRS urgent care team. Services will be provided in the community in a wide variety of settings as well as virtually. As this is a 24/7 program, evening and weekend shifts will be required. Peer support is included so that community members have the option of receiving support and advocacy that is informed by lived/living experience, and so that peer support can inform the approach and services of the team as a whole.
Principal Responsibilities and Duties: Connect with, listen to, believe, empathize, and co-strategize with community members experiencing crisis who request a mobile crisis response to support them in experiencing relief from distressAssist community members to identify and access needed resourcesMaintain awareness of and manage, as needed, the immediate environment around the person who requested services, such as by moving along bystanders, supporting concerned family members, interacting with law enforcement if present, etc. Support community members in understanding and exercising their rights while receiving mobile crisis servicesParticipate in regularly scheduled meetings and ad-hoc debriefs with other mobile crisis team members to continuously improve and expand each other's skills, understanding, and approach to rights-centered, voluntary crisis supportMake follow up connections with people who have received a mobile crisis response to check in, support connection to other resources, solicit feedback, develop plans for how to navigate future crises, etc. Provide phone support to people who call the HCRS crisis number looking for emotional support but don't want a mobile crisis responseSupport the development of mutual support networks and community connections where relevantDocument services, practicing collaborative documentation where possibleParticipate in regularly scheduled meetings with the larger peer support teamAssist with peer support tasks outside of mobile crisis services where possibleKey Knowledge, Skills and Abilities to successfully perform this job: Excellent relational skillsStrong communication skillsAbility to provide honest and compassionate feedback and accountability to people in a wide variety of rolesAbility to see multiple perspectives and nuancesAbility to participate in difficult or heavy conversations and be in proximity to people experiencing various kinds of distressAbility to be a supportive and collaborative team memberRelationships: Peer Support Advocates are supervised by the Mobile Crisis Peer Support Team Leader and are part of the Peer Support Team, and work closely with the HCRS urgent care team.
Qualification Statements: MinimumCommitment to the values of mutual support, community, justice, and choice.
Lived experience of marginalization and/or trauma that supports the ability to connect and relate to people in crisis. This could include various kinds of trauma and marginalization, including madness, neurodivergence, institutionalization, homelessness, incarceration, family separation, loss, addiction, etc. Personal or professional experience supporting people in crisis.
Experience in peer support, harm reduction, community organizing, or other related workFamiliarity and experience with the psychiatric survivor, mad pride, neurodivergent, harm reduction, transformative justice, and/or disability justice movementsPreferredTraining in Intentional Peer Support (IPS), restorative/transformative justice, de-escalation, group facilitation, harm reduction, or other related areasPersonal experience utilizing crisis servicesWorking Conditions and Additional Information: This position involves being in a wide variety of physical locations and stressful situations. A driver's license, the ability to drive regularly and for long distances (up to two hours at a time), and a reliable vehicle is required. Interactions with police and emergency responders will be necessary at times. J-18808-Ljbffr