Client Engagement Specialist - Swing Shift, STAR Center

Description

Shift: Swing (4:30 PM to 12:00 AM)

Days Off: Monday, Tuesday

Shift Differential: $0.50 per hour

Benefits: Dental, Life, Long‑term Disability, Medical (no premiums/payroll deductions for employee coverage)

Other Benefits: Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Flexible Spending Account (FSA), ORCA card subsidy, Paid Time Off (34 days per year), Retirement Plan

Union Representation: This position is a part of a union and is represented by SEIU Healthcare 1199NW.

Recognized nationally as an innovator and leader in developing solutions to homelessness, DESC is a social services organization, supportive housing operator, and licensed behavioral health treatment provider focused on meeting the needs of people experiencing long‑term homelessness and living with complex behavioral health and other medical conditions. Approximately 3,000 people are actively receiving services from DESC at any given point in time.

Our vision is a community where all people are shown compassion, treated with dignity, and everyone has a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home.

DESC operates five shelter/emergency housing programs, 19 permanent supportive housing facilities with over 1,750 units, several hundred additional scattered site apartments, and a range of behavioral health services including outpatient mental health and substance use disorder treatment, residential crisis stabilization, street outreach, mobile crisis response, and treatment for opioid use disorder.

We are looking for a Client Engagement Specialist (CES) who will work within the larger Client Engagement Team spanning three locations:
Hobson Clinic, the DESC Pioneer Square clinics, and the STAR Center.

Hobson Clinic is an integrated behavioral and physical health outpatient clinic jointly operated by DESC and Harborview Medical Center (HMC). The Clinic provides holistic health care services to thousands of community members annually with a focus on improving health care access for people who have experienced barriers to conventional health services. The Clinic specializes in serving people living on lower incomes, people living homeless, and people living with complex physical and mental health conditions and substance use disorders.

The Pioneer Square clinics are two clinics operated by DESC that support a variety of clinical staff and programs ranging from outpatient behavioral health, substance disorder treatment, supportive employment, medical, and drop‑in services. The clinical programs located in Pioneer Square serve a myriad of clients daily to address complex needs related to their mental and physical health.

The STAR (Stability Through Access and Resources) Center is a time‑limited, 24/7, behavioral health‑focused non‑congregate shelter program. Services at the Center are tailored for unsheltered adults facing significant untreated and undertreated challenges related to mental health and substance use disorders. The center is located at 619 3rd Avenue and Cherry Street in downtown Seattle.

The CES team will be the point people to monitor and provide 24/7 safety and security at the STAR Center by managing the milieu outside and inside of the Shelter. The CES team will also be tasked with providing trauma‑informed support to clients at the STAR Center and Pioneer Square by employing various de‑escalation skills while in coordination and consultation with the wider STAR Center staff, clinical, and medical teams.

• To be present in all main operating areas of Hobson Place, 216 James, and STAR Center for client engagement and de‑escalation purposes. Be a welcoming presence and direct clients to the services they are seeking, at times escorting to designated area and walking regular rounds in both low and high‑risk areas of the clinic, Hobson Place, 216 James, STAR Center and 600 block of 3rd Ave, including the area immediately outside of the clinic.
• Monitor the general milieu outside the Hobson Clinic, 216 James Clinic, STAR center and the 500 and 600 blocks of 3rd Ave.
• Work to maintain a comfortable atmosphere for people along 3rd Ave, even in the presence of potentially unusual…