Street Medicine Peer Support

Are you ready to use your unique life experience to connect with people, build deep trust, and save lives?

The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department is looking for a passionate Street Medicine Peer Support Worker (Health Promotion Technician) to meet people exactly where they are. In this role, you will work as a Health Promotion Technician with our Street Medicine Program . Thisis a full-time, 1.0 FTE project position within our Strengthening Families Division. This position is currently funded through 9/29/2027.

Based on our internal compensation review process, the starting hourly wage for this position is $29.23 –$31.30. We make decisions on higher starting salaries based on experience, education, and qualifications.

The full salary range for this position is $29.23- $39.55 per hour. This position also includes a comprehensive benefits package that includes insurance (health, dental, vision, life), retirement plan options, generous leave accruals, annual cost of living salary increases, employee programs, and more. Visit our benefits webpage to learn more.

The Street Medicine Peer Support Worker will play a key role in providing essential services to individuals experiencing homelessness in Tacoma. This position involves working directly with the unsheltered community, driving and operating outreach vehicles (cargo van and RV), packing, organizing, and distributing supplies, connecting patients to resources. The Street Medicine Peer Support Worker will also help build and maintain community partnerships and ensure a positive, compassionate, and trauma-informed approach to outreach. This position requires flexibility, adaptability, and the ability to work in all weather conditions while navigating the complexities of homelessness.

This technical classification is responsible for supporting community health promotion and program objectives. Work involves coordinating services with clients, customers, and community partners, and providing education and training. This role also provides administrative and on-the-ground support for Health Department programs.

Distinguishing Characteristics

This position is a technical classification under the direction of a lead, supervisor, or program manager, whose work supports the Health Promotion Coordinator (HPC) series. An employee assigned to this classification will work semi-independently with close supervision. Work requires strict adherence to well-defined directives, instructions, and procedures.

Position Series

• Health Promotion Technician
• Health Promotion Coordinator I
• Health Promotion Coordinator II
• Health Promotion Coordinator III

Career Path Options

Options to continue your career at the Health Department depend on your interest, education, and training. Possibilities beyond include:

• Office Administrator
• Communications Specialist I, II
• Executive Assistant II
• Technical Assistant

Essential Functions

• Provides administrative and on-the-ground support for community-based outreach and education activities.
• Collects, enters, tracks, and reports program activity data for grants and program delivery measurables.
• Assist with scheduling, coordination, and set-up of community-based outreach, events, and education activities. Provides logistics support for community events, including but not limited to advertisement, invitations, setting up virtual or in-person meeting spaces, event set up, and note taking.
• Attends community events and assists HPC’s in distributing informational materials.

Examples of Key Duties

The items in this section are the key duties and responsibilities for this job and do not represent an exhaustive list. Our organization is dynamic, and duties may change based on business needs. Any new duties will remain within the scope of the job.

• Collect relevant data during outreach activities, including participant details, service needs, and resource distribution.
• Input collected data into digital or paper systems accurately and promptly, ensuring proper documentation of all services provided.
• Set up outreach stations at deployment locations, ensuring the area is organized, safe, and ready to serve individuals in need.
• Ensure that outreach materials and supplies are accessible and that the environment is conducive to providing care.
• Distribute essential resources such as food, hygiene products, and clothing to individuals experiencing homelessness in all weather conditions.
• Provide a trauma-informed approach, offering respect and empathy when engaging with people in need.
• Assist individuals in completing their health insurance applications online through WA Healthplanfinder.
• Help individuals navigate the online enrollment process, ensuring they are connected with the healthcare services available to them.
• Safely operate and maintain the cargo van and RV, transporting team members, medical supplies, and outreach materials to designated service locations.
• Ensure that vehicles are stocked with necessary supplies and maintained to remain operational during outreach.
• Prepare and organize the cargo van and RV with supplies such as hygiene kits, food, clothing, and healthcare resources for distribution.
• Ensure supplies are securely packed, organized, and easily accessible during outreach.
• Regularly organize and count inventory, including 50 lbs weight limit supplies such as hygiene items and medical kits.
• Keep accurate records of supplies and ensure that materials are replenished as needed for each deployment.
• Maintain the cleanliness and hygiene of outreach vehicles, ensuring they are safe, sanitary, and ready for use in subsequent outreach sessions.
• Regularly clean and disinfect the vehicles as part of the team's health and safety standards.
• Provides administrative and on-the-ground support for community-based outreach and education activities.
• Collects, enters, tracks, and reports program activity data for grants and program delivery measurables.
• Assist with scheduling, coordination, and set up of community-based outreach, events, and education activities. Provides logistics support for community events, including but not limited to advertisement, invitations, setting up virtual or in-person meeting spaces, event set up, and note taking.
• Attends community events and assists HPC’s in distributing informational materials.
• Coordinates with department staff and community partners to gather and maintain accurate program data.
• Helps with the development and maintenance of accurate and culturally appropriate resources, training, and promotion materials.
• Works with administrative staff to monitor, track, and maintain program-specific supply inventory.
• Uses purchasing card to make purchases for assigned program.
• The work you do might require you to participate in the Title XIX Medicaid Claiming Program.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Safety & Emergency Preparedness

• Adheres to all workplace and trade safety laws, regulations, standards, and practices.
• Understands and properly follows established procedures in preventing and responding to unsafe or emergency situations. Identifies and reports potentially unsafe practices or conditions.
• Operates equipment, tools, machinery, and vehicles safely and understands processes for reporting an accident or injury.
• Understands and applies knowledge and skills necessary to successfully perform assigned emergency response role during an emergency.

When public health responds to an emergency, you may be assigned duties and responsibilities that are outside your regular job description. This may involve responding at any time and reporting to a location other than the department with different working conditions and physical requirements. You are expected to participate in emergency preparedness activities including our emergency notification system, WA SECURES. Drills and real-world events may take place at any time.

The items below are the requirements for the job and are relevant to this position. The organization values work experience, lived experience, and education and realizes that people take different paths to acquire knowledge.

• Associate’s degree.
• 1 year of experience in a community health, medical office, or community-based organization.

Professional Certifications, Licensure, and Other Requirements

We require or prefer the below for this classification.

• Valid driver’s license and acceptable driver’s abstract required prior to employment.
• Certified Peer Support (ability to become certified within the first 8 months).
  • Must have personal lived experience in houselessness, mental health or substance use recovery, or be a parent or legal guardian of a youth who has received behavioral health services to receive this certification.
• WA Healthplanfinder Navigator Certification (or ability to become certified within first 8 months).
• Bilingual in Spanish, or another language largely spoken in Pierce County preferred.

Work Environment

• Work is performed in a variety of settings: in an office, out in the community, nursing facilities, cultural centers, homeless encampments, roadsides, wooded trails, etc. Exposure to hazards is limited to those commonly found in office environments and in the community.
• Work may be performed outdoors in a variety of weather conditions, including heat, humidity, snow, and rain, leading to exposure to hazards related to heat or cold exposure.
• The potential for dealing with dissatisfied, inebriated and/or emotional, or angry customers exists requiring skills in conflict resolution.

Physical and Cognitive Demands

• Regularly required to sit or stand continuously.
• Regularly communicate clearly in-person, over the phone, and via written communication, including communicating with dissatisfied or angry individuals.
• Capable of reading physical and electronic documents and working for prolonged periods on a computer monitor.
• Fine motor skills sufficient to grip and manipulate paper and operate a telephone, computer mouse and keyboard, and complete a trigger pull motion.
• Reaching and gross manipulation capabilities sufficient to pick up and use standard office supplies.
• 1-3 times per month, reaching overhead for tent setup and frequently stooping.
• Frequently required to perform work outdoors in a variety of weather conditions, including heat, rain, and cold.
• May require walking/traversing up to 1/2 mile (ie: from parking to the booth) at community events while transporting supplies.
• This position may require lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, or moving objects up to 50 pounds.
• Frequently operate a motor vehicle locally in any lighting conditions and various weather conditions, including rain.
• Maintain concentration and attention for extended periods of time.
• Regularly maintain situational awareness of surroundings to identify and address potential safety issues.
• Regularly work effectively in the presence of visual, auditory, or other distractions.
• Work effectively when exposed to workplace stressors, such as emotional and/or confrontational individuals.
• Learn, recall, and apply specialized information.

Tools and Equipment

• Duties require the use of standard office furniture and equipment (e.g., desk, filing cabinet, computer, printer, telephone, copy machine, etc.)
• Driving Large vehicles (including a cargo van and an RV) transporting staff and volunteers to include.
• Some positions may require the use of specialty equipment (e.g. XRF tools, large printers, etc.)
• Hand trucks

Travel

• Travel is required (80% of the time), and is typically local or regional, to meet with clients, conduct business, or attend training.

Click Here for more details on reasonable accommodations, safety, risk management and more.