[Hiring] Street Outreach Specialist @City of Durham

Role Description

The Street Outreach Team engages unhoused neighbors where they are, building trusting relationships and providing compassionate, person-centered support. The team provides life-saving supplies, connects neighbors to essential community resources and services, and works alongside individuals to develop housing plans that support their goals toward stability and permanent housing.

We are looking for Street Outreach Specialists that are excited about and committed to Housing First, harm reduction, and the long, arduous work of systems change on behalf of neighbors experiencing homelessness. If you're someone who takes pride in meeting people where they’re at (literally and figuratively), who persistently pursues housing solutions for willing neighbors (even if it takes a whole lot of creativity and determination), and who works exceptionally well on teams (which means engaging in and resolving difficult conversations), then you’re the kind of rockstar we want in our department.

Duties/Responsibilities

• Champion a Housing First mentality that sees housing as an immediate solution for neighbors experiencing homelessness, not as a secondary step once neighbors are deemed “housing ready.”
• Meet neighbors where they’re at (both literally and figuratively) to develop trusting relationships that can lead to housing stability.
• Demonstrate persistence and creativity in connecting neighbors to appropriate and ongoing services and finding stable housing options for neighbors willing to move inside.
• Provide culturally competent engagement and peer counseling services to neighbors experiencing homelessness.
• Work closely with team members and supervisors to coordinate the outreach, care, and housing of neighbors.
• Collaborate closely with 911 crisis response staff on any interactions with unhoused neighbors and assist in developing person-specific protocols if needed.
• Nurture productive and highly collaborative relationships with external providers on behalf of neighbors seeking housing and additional services.
• Maintain standards around and fully comply with federal, state, local, and departmental policies on documentation and records related to supervision, neighbor care, and monitoring.
• Contribute to strategic planning activities and conversations regarding the performance and direction of the department, particularly as related to street outreach and the homelessness system.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED.
• Completion of (or willingness to complete within six months of employment) a mental health certificate program, peer support specialist certificate, or equivalent education.
• Personal lived experience with symptoms of mental illness, Intellectual Developmental Disabilities, alcohol or other drug use, justice involvement and/or homelessness.
• Two years of relevant experience in street outreach, crisis response, or programs working with the unhoused population.
• Must have a valid, unrestricted, North Carolina Class C driver’s license “or” if you currently have another state driver’s license, be willing and able to obtain a valid NC driver’s license within 60 days of start date.
• A track record of demonstrating initiative and sound judgment when handling ambiguity.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality, and particularly HIPAA confidentiality, at all times.
• 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.

Additional Preferred Skills

• Significant experience with outreach/engagement of unhoused neighbors.
• 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.
• 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).
• Ability to speak two or more languages, with a high priority on Spanish.
• 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.