Mobile Mental Health Associate (Shelter Behavioral Health Team)

Mobile Mental Health Associate (Shelter Behavioral Health Team)

Job Overview

Location/Schedule: This position is based out of Kerns building in NE Portland, but work is performed in the community setting including client residences, schools, police precincts, shelters, residential facilities, and public spaces. The schedule for this position is Friday through Monday, mid-shift, 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Position: Mobile Mental Health Associate

Program: Project Respond/Shelter Behavioral Health Team (SBHT)

Cascadia's Mission and Vision:  

Mission: Cascadia Health delivers whole health care – integrated mental health and addiction services, primary care, and housing – to promote hope and support the well-being of the communities we serve. 

Vision: We envision a community where everyone benefits from whole health care, experiences well-being, and has a self-directed, connected life. 

Program Description: The Street Outreach Team (SOT) and Shelter Behavioral Health Team (SBHT) have joined under a shared service model to provide coordinated, person-centered support for individuals experiencing homelessness across street, shelter, and housing settings. By combining outreach, peer support, engagement, and service coordination, the team creates a more seamless experience while helping people build trust and connect with resources that support long-term stability and wellbeing. Services include outreach and engagement, housing navigation, peer support, transportation, advocacy, benefits assistance, and connections to healthcare, behavioral health, recovery, shelter, and housing resources. While the team no longer provides housing vouchers or rental assistance, it continues to offer short-term, goal-focused housing support services that help individuals overcome barriers and connect to long-term community supports, typically over a 3-6 month period.

Position Description: The Mental Health Associate, Mobile provides and coordinates a wide range of supportive and therapeutic services for individuals experiencing homelessness, mental illness, substance use challenges, and other health issues. This position responds to environmental and behavioral health crises and provides short-term stabilization and case management services to ensure safety, reduce risk, and connect individuals to ongoing care and stabilization resources.

The job incumbent must understand, appreciate, and respect the differences within our Cascadia community. As such, it is expected that this position promotes integrated care, our vision of trauma-informed and person-first approaches and helps create a work environment of acceptance

Essential Responsibilities

This position description is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of responsibilities or an all-inclusive job description.

• Provide on-site engagement, de-escalation, advocacy, referral and support to adults accessing Multnomah County Publicly Funded Shelters.

• Assist in crisis situations as appropriate, following emergency protocols/procedures and coordinate with the Shelter Services Team.

• Assess individuals protective and risk factors as well as capabilities and resources in order to guide intervention.

• Assist individuals in seeking community resources and utilizing natural supports to meet identified needs.

• Triage requests for service as they come into the team from Multnomah County Locally Funded Shelters.

• Coordinate responses to situations with other shelter staff and community providers.

• Identify and assess risk factors for harm to self or others in the context of the client’s current pyscho-social context via interview with client and with consideration given to collateral information; consider and articulate potential outcomes of various interventions, discuss their risks and benefits, and formulate why a particular course of action was pursued in lieu of other options; opt for least intrusive and most supportive intervention. 

• Provide information and facilitate linkage to mental health treatment and other social services.

• Consult with teammates, supervisors, program managers, and program medical directors as appropriate.

• Respect client rights and responsibilities and demonstrate professional boundaries and ethics.

• Adhere to mandatory abuse reporting laws and HIPAA requirements.

• Document and maintain electronic health record (EHR) and ancillary records in a manner that assures compliance with all agency policies, program procedures and local, state, and federal regulations. 

• Demonstrate responsibility for safety of consumers, staff and property; is familiar with fire regulations and evacuation procedures.

• Complete annual employee training requirements on a timely basis as indicated in the licensing requirements for the facility as well as agency requirements. Attend seminars, training and other educational opportunities in order to develop professional skills and abilities.

• Participate in all scheduled staff meetings, supervision sessions, and other departmental and agency meetings.

• Perform other duties as assigned

Qualifications

• Must meet the requirement to be credentialed as a Qualified Mental Health Associate (QMHA) through MHACBO. A QMHA requires a Bachelor's degree in a behavioral science field from an accredited college or university, three years full-time related work experience in mental health, or a combination of the two (an equivalency of three years). Certification must be current and in compliance with the OAR’s.

• Ability to operate in a sometimes ambiguous and frequently changing work environment.

• Knowledge and/or experience in providing culturally responsive services, particularly for African American, Latino and Native American participants.

• At least one year of experience working with shelter programs is preferred

• Equivalent combination of education/experience preferably in a non-profit organization preferred

• Conduct a Mental Status assessment

• Knowledge of risk assessment and crisis intervention

• Understand evidence based practices, and strength based case management philosophies and strategies including trauma informed care

• Operate computer hardware and software at a level needed to effectively perform job functions

• Possess a valid driver’s license, three year driving history; clean driving record, ability to pass Driver Motor Vehicle (DMV) check and complete the Cascadia online Defensive Driving course. This position requires the ability to drive a personal or company vehicle for the completion of work duties.

Working Conditions

• Work is performed in the community setting primarily within Multnomah County Public Shelter spaces. Meal periods and breaks are subject to interruption. Universal Precautions and remaining alert to the environment are critical to address the potential for violent behavior, exposure to disease, biohazards, noise, and contaminants. 

• Must work collaboratively with partners as well as independently to minimize risk to self and clients and, when necessary, quickly and accurately communicate with police agencies in emergent situations

• The Shelter Services Counselor must have the ability to quickly assess and respond to concerns related to interpersonal and environmental safety. The work regularly involves a degree of unpredictability and disruption of planned tasks requiring a flexible time management approach.

Cascadia is an Equal Opportunity employer.  We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.  If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, you may contact us at (503) 963-7654 or [email protected]

This position is represented by a labor union.

Benefits

We offer generous benefits for our full-time and part-time employees (20 hours + pro-rated) including:

• Generous Paid Time Off Package - Full-time employees earn 6 weeks of PTO in their first year!
• Medical and Dental Coverage (begins 1st of the month following hire date)
• VSP Vision Discount Plan
• 403(b) Retirement Plan - Eligible after 60 days with immediate 100% vesting and a 1-to-1 company match up to 3% per pay period, plus the opportunity for an additional discretionary contribution (up to 5%) at the end of the fiscal year.
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA) (Medical, dependent care, and transportation options)
• Short-Term Disability, Long-Term Disability, and Life Insurance
• Paid Bereavement and Jury Duty Leave
• Length of Service Award
• Voluntary Life Insurance
• Supplemental Insurance
• Student loan forgiveness options

Wellness Benefits:

• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Bike to Work Reimbursement

Starting Rate Range in USD ($)

$28.30 - $29.57