K-PACT Mobile Crisis Counsellor 

Overview

The Kamloops Aboriginal Friendship Society (KAFS) Peer Assisted Care Team (PACT) pilot is a one-year program and will provide an alternative to the presence of police personnel at mental health crisis calls in Kamloops. The pilot teams into services will integrate cultural safety protocols and holistic care options Mobile teams comprised of a mental health professional and a peer (someone with lived or living experience) will be available during scheduled service hours for immediate low-barrier, harm reduction, trauma-informed support services to community members experiencing mental health, substance use and related crises. This program aims to reduce the harms experienced by people who have mental health and addictions challenges as well as Black, Indigenous, racialized, LGBTQ2+ and other marginalized individuals.

Job Summary:

The PACT team will provide acute crisis support and de-escalation services for persons 13 years of age and older experiencing mental health and/or substance use related crises. The Mobile Crisis Counsellor will be responsible for rapid point of service mental health crisis management and de-escalation, including crisis and wellness assessment, suicide intervention and safety planning.

A day in the life – roles and responsibilities:

1. Provide situational assessment and crisis de-escalation.
2. ‘Hold-space’ for persons/groups experiencing psychological/emotional distress.
3. Assess wellness and safety plan, including triage to emergency services.
4. Co-develop Care Plans and Safety/Wellness Plans by centering client agency and supporting community connection and access to social and health care services.
5. Maintain confidential case notes, including safety and wellness assessments, client documentation and release of information.
6. Provide outreach care and emergency mental health response and support to persons in a variety of settings, including: parks, encampments, shelters, drop-in centers, people’s homes and community centers and to people living outside.
7. Support immediate access to survival supplies, including access to food, tents, tarps, blankets, clothing, harm reduction and safe sex supplies, etc.
8. First aid and overdose responses include rescue breathing, oxygen and naloxone when necessary.
9. Engage in point of service crisis counseling, clinical case management and supervision.
10. Foster safety by following protocols related to violence prevention and critical incidents such as overdose and other medical emergencies.
11. Engage in Later Leadership Practices, including open communication, mutual support, and collective accountability.
12. Work outdoors in all types of weather and in all seasons
13. Perform other related duties as assigned or required.

Requirements – what you bring to KAFS:

• Minimum 3 years’ relevant experience. Experience with crisis de-escalation, case management and harm reduction preferred
• Degree in mental health, Counselling or Social Work.

• Adept with situational and mental health assessment, including safety and wellness assessment, de-escalation and crisis intervention skills
• Extensive experience providing supportive counselling in the field
• Suicide Intervention and Assessment Training
• CBT and DBT Training
• Mental Health First Aid Training
• Experience and capacity for incident debriefing, including with service users and teammates.
• Skills and capacity to assess and triage to emergency services, where appropriate
• Extensive experience with Clinical Case Management, including experience maintaining confidential client records
• Effective working relationships with community care providers, including local non-profit and Health Authority services
• Direct Service delivery and advocacy experience with community-based and provincial support services and systems (financial aid, housing/shelter, healthcare, justice system, etc.)
• Demonstrated capacity to effectively communicate with Emergency Service Personnel
• Demonstrated skills, experience, and commitment to harm reduction principles and practices.
• Demonstrated ability to establish respectful rapport, provide support and advocate for a diverse range of individuals who are actively using substances and living with significant barriers to their health and well-being.
• Demonstrated empathic observer invested in respectful relationship-building.
• Demonstrated practice of social justice, cultural humility, trauma-informed and public health approaches and models of social support and health care.
• Experience managing hostile interactions, utilizing non-violent communication, and diffusing techniques.
• Demonstrated ability to take initiative, find innovative solutions and work independently. To use resourceful and creative problem solving to find effective solutions and to meet people where they are at both physically in community and in their experience.
• First aid and CPR level C
• Commitment to honor Indigenous communities and ways of knowing, and approach learning about the ongoing impacts of colonial violence with humility.

Hours and Schedule: Monday to Friday 4pm to 12am evening shift, 37.5 hours per week.

Preference will be given to applicants of Aboriginal ancestry as per section 41 of the BC Human Rights Code