Peer Counselor; Street Health

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Full Time San Francisco, CA, US

30+ days ago Requisition

Salary Range: $30.90 To $36.90 Hourly

Richmond Area Multi-Services, Inc. (RAMS) is a private, non-profit comprehensive mental health agency that is committed to providing community-based, culturally competent, and consumer-driven services that meet the behavioral health, social, vocational, and educational needs of the diverse community of the San Francisco Area. At the forefront of the peer provider profession, RAMS offers culturally congruent peer counseling & support, outreach, resource linkage, and education & training throughout San Francisco.

Peer providers are also engaged in workforce & professional development activities and engage in behavioral health wellness promotion & outreach. RAMS programs uphold principles of wellness and recovery with an approach that is strengths-based and promotes a sense of empowerment, self-direction, and hope.

Street Health is a collaboration between RAMS, the San Francisco Department of Public Health’s Behavioral Health Services (DPH-BHS), and other community partners that provides street-based behavioral health care throughout the city across five neighborhood-based teams. With carefully created care plans, strong multi-disciplinary teams, street-based medical and psychiatric resources, and the support of other agencies and City departments, we seek to quickly improve the health and quality of life of people experiencing homelessness and living with chronic mental health, substance use, and medical conditions.

In this role, the Peer Counselor provides trauma-informed and culturally responsive peer counseling services. The Peer Counselor’s 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, trust, and reducing trauma for the most vulnerable members of our San Francisco community.

The Peer Counselor works closely with other members of the multi-disciplinary Street Health team to offer counseling, resource linkage, and accompaniment to appointments, as well as coordination with community partners related to client care.

• As part of the Street Health team, provide trauma-informed, culturally aligned, and person-centered peer counseling services for individuals who are unhoused and living with chronic behavioral health and medical conditions.
• Work collaboratively as part of a multi-disciplinary team of behavioral health clinicians, health workers, medical providers, and other healthcare professionals to perform consistent and focused outreach and engagement to identified “shared priority” clients (those with the most acute need for care) and while conducting general community outreach to individuals experiencing homelessness.
• Demonstrate competency in utilizing community resources (e.g. hospitals, primary care clinics, shelters, pharmacies, and substance use treatment programs) to provide effective linkage and follow up care as guided by the care plan and as assigned.
• Work with other team members in quickly assessing the needs of identified clients, utilizing 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.
• Must have excellent communication skills and be able to navigate team dynamics and work with multi-disciplinary teams in a collaborative and cohesive approach.
• Utilize safety-training protocols as developed by Street Health program to practice situational awareness and safe outreach practices in the community.
• Document in the Electronic Health Record (Epic), use HIPAA-protected app based communication software (Microsoft Teams, zoom),…