Mobile Crisis Responder, Husky Assist

The University of Washington’s Husky Assist unit has an outstanding opportunity for a Crisis Responder to join their team.

Reporting to the Director of Husky Assist, the Crisis Responder is responsible for responding to urgent behavioral health needs across the UW Seattle campus for any students, faculty, staff and visitors, including response to youth & children under the age of 18 who are on campus for a UW-sanctioned purpose. While encounters could be with unhoused people, UW employs other resources for crisis calls involving unhoused individuals on the Seattle campus.

The University of Washington’s Husky Assist unit has an outstanding opportunity for a Crisis Responder to join their team.

Reporting to the Director of Husky Assist, the Crisis Responder is responsible for responding to urgent behavioral health needs across the UW Seattle campus for any students, faculty, staff and visitors, including response to youth & children under the age of 18 who are on campus for a UW-sanctioned purpose. While encounters could be with unhoused people, UW employs other resources for crisis calls involving unhoused individuals on the Seattle campus.

Husky Assist may be mobilized alone or as a co-response with UW Police, depending on the nature of the request. There are many crisis-related situations that may not require the presence of armed law enforcement, but because of the ambiguous nature of crisis situations it is essential that this position coordinate closely with UW Police. Individuals hired for this role must be comfortable working with police on response activities.

Husky Assist launched within the last year, and the program is still being refined. Ideal candidates will need a flexible, collaborative mindset, a capacity for innovation, and a willingness to embrace change and process improvement as the program grows to fit the needs of an expansive and diverse campus.

Crisis Responders work within the footprint of the UW Seattle campus and are expected to work on‑site. On rare occasions, at the discretion of the Director, staff can work on an assigned special project as a telework assignment. Husky Assist responders work 11am‑830pm on non-holiday weekdays with one weekday off every other week.

Provide direct crisis intervention, stabilization and resource referral to campus members of all ages who present with a behavioral health concern or are in an active state of crisis while adhering to the parameters of UW policies and procedures. Staff hired for this role will have ongoing supervisory support, including in the moment, as well as routine supervision. Husky Assist team members will independently intake, assess, coordinate care and plan for client disposition, apply sound judgement on when to seek supervisory support for ambiguous situations, higher risk clients, or high‑profile events.

• Coordinate directly with law enforcement, fire/EMS and dispatch to determine who will take the lead on an incident response and adjust role and/or interventions throughout as needed
• Maintain strong working knowledge of culturally- and age- appropriate community resources, processes, interventions and requirements, including, but not limited to:
• Mental health crisis intervention
• Suicide risk assessment
• Interpersonal violence
• Abuse/neglect of children and vulnerable adults
• Crisis intervention
• Substance use
• Grief counseling
• Harm reduction
• Trauma-informed care
• De-escalation
• Assist in the arrangement of transportation to emergency and crisis facilities, when needed, based upon the safety needs of the individual. This could include transporting the person in a university-owned vehicle.