Street Outreach Specialist

Work. Serve. Thrive. With the City of Durham

Advance in your career while making a real difference in the community you serve.

Hiring Range: $23.57 - $28.66 per hour

Hours: 40 hours per week, Monday through Friday. Shifts will be either 7 am to 3 pm or 1 pm to 9 pm. Please keep in mind that, eventually, the Street Outreach program intends to have weekend hours as well. This may involve a change in shift schedule for the entire team. More information on schedule will be given during the interview process.

About us

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. Recently, DCSD has expanded to include Street Outreach. As part of that expansion, we are hiring three Street Outreach Specialists, who will be part of DCSD's first ever Street Outreach Team!

About our approach to street outreach candidates specifically

We are looking for candidates 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.

How you'll know if you're a good match for our department generally

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. If you resonate with the statements below, you'll be a great match for our approach to work.

• You are committed to Housing First and its core principles. You also understand the need for pragmatism in the long work of systems change.
• You love serving unhoused neighbors and walking alongside them as they journey through housing, recovery, employment, medical care, and any number of other avenues.
• You thrive in collaborative spaces – teamwork is at the core of your desired work-life.
• You enjoy a workplace that emphasizes learning and translating insight into real change—both in the workplace and in how we engage with the people we serve.
• You're eager to learn—about people, about social systems, about new ways to approach care.
• You love caring for others and you know how to take care of your own needs, too.

We understand that interview processes can be stressful. We'd like to offer as much information to help you understand and navigate our process here at DCSD. This hiring process will move at a brisk pace. If you are interested in this position, we encourage you to apply immediately.

To offer some further insight into the application screening and interview process, this presentation outlines what we are looking for at each stage. While we strive to communicate with applicants at each step of the process, due to the number of applicants, we may not always be able to communicate immediately if you are not selected to advance to a first-round interview. Please know that we do appreciate your interest and encourage you to reapply as new positions are posted.

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 the homelessness system.

Minimum Qualifications & Experience

• Two year associate's degree, or equivalent;
• One or more years of relevant experience in street outreach, crisis response, or programs working with the unhoused population.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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:
  1. 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
  2. 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.