Peer Support Specialist Jobs

Position Description

Work. Serve. Thrive. With the City of Durham
Advance in your career while making a real difference in the community you serve.

Hiring range: $45,493.00 - $51,962
Hours/Schedule: 40 hours per week, consisting of three in-person 12 hour shifts and four hours of administrative work time. Responders are assigned shift hours of either 9 am to 9 pm or noon to midnight. Shift hours remain the same (i.e. those assigned to a 9 am to 9 pm shift never work noon to midnight, and vice versa). Responders will work one out of every three weekends. They will also have a six to seven day break every six weeks (built into their schedule). More information on schedule will be given during the interview process.

In 2022, the Durham Community Safety Department (DCSD) launched four 911 crisis response programs—collectively known as HEART (Holistic Empathetic Assistance Response Teams)—to meet the needs of people in crisis with compassionate care and behavioral health expertise. In the first twelve months of operation, and having responded to over 6,000 calls, HEART continues to demonstrate that alternative 911 responses are safe and effective. Interested applicants can visit our website and dashboard, watch this clip from CNN’s Sanjay Gupta, listen to this segment on NPR (WUNC), or read this piece from The Assembly to learn more about our department. As part of a cohort of municipalities invested in developing transformative 911 crisis response programs, the Community Safety Department generates insights that affect cities across the country who visit, meet, and learn from and about HEART. In short: your work at the Community Safety Department will help seed a national movement.

DCSD is currently hiring Peer Support Specialists for our Care Navigation and Community Response Teams. DCSD recognizes lived experience as an important form of expertise that helps better position our teams to provide compassionate care. Please review the program descriptions below. Note that many of our Peer Support Specialists rotate through our two programs. While not everyone will serve in both programs, we are looking for candidates excited about working in multiple programs. In the application process, you will have an opportunity to let us know which programs you are most interested in as well as any you would not want to serve in.

• The Care Navigation program assigns two-person teams—consisting of a Crisis Response Clinician (who functions as a team lead) and a Peer Support Specialist—to follow-up with residents within 48 hours of initial encounter with one of the crisis response teams mentioned above. Care Navigators’ with a primary goal of connecting residents to the care they want and need within 30 days of initial encounter.
• The Community Response Team program sends three-person teams—consisting of a Crisis Response Clinician (who functions as a team lead), a Peer Support Specialist, and EMT—to 911 calls for service involving behavioral health and quality of life related concerns. Note that CRT responds in-person without law enforcement. CRT responds in-person without law enforcement and has a strong track record of safety (responders report feeling safe on over 99 percent of calls). Peer Support Specialists are encouraged to regularly engage with residents by providing input on community resources and previous lived experience. They are also asked to provide creative and supportive intervention and de-escalation in collaboration with their teammates.

DCSD’s approach to work is flexible, highly collaborative, and evidence-driven. Our departmental culture prizes equity, care, and the health and safety of our staff. We are looking for candidates who share similar approaches and principles. We envision adding team members who are not only colleagues but partners in this challenging and purpose-driven work.

Peer Support Specialists will receive general administrative direction and clinical supervision from the Shift Supervisors. They will not carry out supervisory tasks.

Schedule: 40 hours per week, consisting of three in-person 12 hour shifts and four hours of administrative work time. Responders are assigned shift hours of either 9 am to 9 pm or noon to midnight. Shift hours remain the same (i.e. those assigned to a 9 am to 9 pm shift never work noon to midnight, and vice versa). Responders will work one out of every three weekends. They will also have a six to seven day break every six weeks (built into their schedule). More information on schedule will be given during the interview process.

Duties/Responsibilities

• Act as an advocate for individuals in crisis and individuals on-scene, ensuring their needs are met and barriers to treatment are removed.
• Develop and maintain clear, open, timely, cooperative, and collaborative communication and working relations with all staff, clients, and partner agencies.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date documentation as required by the agency, local, state, and federal policy and requirements.
• Follow-up to assure that connections are made to services and supports based on peer choice and clinician assessment. Facilitates warm handoffs to other services as needed.
• Work collaboratively with CRT members to assess the needs of individuals experiencing crises and assist in developing response plans.
• Develop highly collaborative, trusting, and productive relationships with other Community Responder Team members.
• Demonstrate a high level of resilience and self-care as part of maintaining wellness in a high crisis and first responder position.
• Assist peers in identifying and engaging various community resources and supports.
• Provide culturally competent peer support to individuals experiencing non-violent, mental and behavioral health crises, substance use crises, or Intellectual Developmental Disability crises, or quality of life crises.
• Respond to 911 calls related to mental health, behavioral health, and substance use crises using people-centered and trauma-informed crisis intervention strategies.
• Contribute to strategic planning activities and conversations regarding the performance and direction of the department, particularly in regard to crisis response and departmental culture.
• Meet with peers to establish and maintain a positive and trusting relationship that is person-centered, strengths-based, and trauma-informed.
• Participate in clinical and administrative supervision, case conferences, staff meetings, in-service training, and other staff development activities. Integrate peer voices in planning, policy, and evaluation conversations.

Minimum Qualifications & Experience

• A commitment to equity, which could include having already attended racial equity trainings.
• Previous professional experience in crisis response or crisis intervention roles.
• High school diploma (or GED).
• A commitment to and interest in the mission of the department: to enhance public safety through community-centered approaches to prevention and intervention as alternatives to policing and the criminal legal system.
• Completion of a mental health certificate program, peer support specialist certificate, or equivalent education.
• Knowledge of:
  • the signs and symptoms of mental illness (i.e. auditory and visual hallucinations, aggressive talk and behavior, thoughts of self-harm or harm towards others, isolation, etc.), and
  • methods and techniques used in crisis intervention and crisis de-escalation (i.e. Crisis Intervention Training, Seeking Safety, Motivational Interviewing).
• Must be able to travel to and from worksite and other locations within Durham.
• Must be able to walk/stand up to 75%of any assigned shift. Note: The team will be transported in vans to crisis call locations.
• Two years of peer counseling or related experience working with diverse constituencies.
• Basic computer knowledge and skills.
• At least 2-3 years of direct lived experience with substance use, behavioral health, or criminal justice systems.
• Methods and techniques used in crisis intervention and crisis de-escalation (i.e. Crisis Intervention Training, Seeking Safety, Motivational Interviewing).
• A track record of demonstrating initiative and sound judgment when handling ambiguity.
• The signs and symptoms of mental illness (i.e. auditory and visual hallucinations, aggressive talk and behavior, thoughts of self-harm or harm towards others, isolation, etc.), and

Additional Preferred Skills

• Ability to speak two or more languages, with a high priority on Spanish.
• Personal lived experience with those struggling with symptoms of mental illness, Intellectual Developmental Disabilities, alcohol or other drug use, justice involvement and/or homelessness.
• Prior experience in outreach/engagement to populations under inordinate stress.
• Familiarity with Durham health systems and community resources/services for physical health behavioral and mental health, substance use, Intellectual Developmental Disability, family dynamics, sexual/physical abuse, Veterans' Services, vocational rehabilitation, housing, justice involvement, referral processes, and other services.
• Strong knowledge and experience with service delivery (including counseling/treatment planning), documentation, clinical coverage policies (NC Service Definitions, i.e. ACT, CST IOP, SACOT, Innovation Wavier), utilization review, and data management.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality/HIPPA standards at all times.
• Significant experience with crisis response.
• Advanced collaboration and interpersonal skills with the ability to build consensus and promote the exchange of information among team members and partners.?

Benefits – General Full-Time Employees

• Paid temporary disability leave for specified conditions
• 12 standard work days of sick leave per year, which accumulates indefinitely; sick leave may be used toward early retirement
• City contribution of 10.15% into the N.C. State Retirement System
• Medical, dental, vision, and supplemental life insurance plans
• Paid funeral leave
• Short and long term disability plans
• 11-12 paid holidays per year
• 2 weeks paid military leave per year
• Paid life insurance equal to annual salary
• Employee Assistance Program - personal and family counseling
• State and City retirement plans
• 457 Deferred Compensation Plans
• 12 standard work days of vacation per year
• 4 hours parental leave each year
• Workman's Compensation Insurance
• 48 hours for volunteer work each year*

Benefits - Part-Time (1,000 hours or more per year)

• State retirement plan
• 401(k) retirement plan (5.0% of salary)

Benefits Part-Time (Average 30 hours per week over 12 month period)

• Health Insurance
• State retirement plan
• 401(k) retirement plan (5.0% of salary)