Overnight Direct Support Specialist

New Narrative•Portland, OR

1d•$22•Onsite

About The Position

The Direct Support Specialist is part of New Narrative’s Motel Support Team: Cultivating Community, which provides outreach and support to people placed in emergency motels and helps connect them with housing opportunities and community-based resources. The role provides environmental and milieu management to maintain a safe, trauma-informed, equitable, and inclusive setting. This includes managing the lobby and motel grounds, maintaining an onsite census, ensuring cleanliness and OSHA-compliant conditions, supporting participants’ safety and individual goals, and participating in interdisciplinary and staff meetings. The program combines direct support with peer and risk case management to help reduce emergency department visits and psychiatric admissions, increase contact with mental health and substance use service providers, and link participants to transitional or permanent housing. The position works the overnight shift Tuesday through Saturday, 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., in Portland, Oregon, and surrounding metro areas. Pay starts at $21.50 per hour and may increase based on experience.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent.
Current Oregon driver’s license and insurance.
Own a reliable vehicle; the position requires substantial driving to meet participants in the community.
If the incumbent has a substance use disorder, be sober and free of substance use for the two full years preceding hire and maintain sobriety.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
Maintain CPR and First Aid certification.
Pass a criminal history check through the Department of Human Services.
Demonstrate clear communication, teamwork, adaptability, analytical thinking, dependability, ability to learn and apply new procedures, and a calm, empathetic, unbiased, nonjudgmental demeanor.
Ability to work in a busy and stressful environment, including crisis response and de-escalation.

Nice To Haves

Bilingual Spanish/English.

Responsibilities

Provide direct one-on-one support to participants.
Manage the lobby by answering phones and greeting participants.
Redirect or remove nonparticipants with clinical staff support as needed.
Respond to crises and de-escalate situations; use emergency services when needed.
Oversee motel safety, including fire drills, environmental safety, maintenance requests, nighttime security, and resolving participant disputes.
Keep the facility clean, orderly, and safe, including food storage areas, common areas, and the employee office.
Engage participants where they are, using a trauma-informed, person-centered approach.
Assist participants with daily living skills, appointments, household and hygiene tasks, medication prompts, and connection to treatment and support teams.
Support participants in pursuing self-identified goals and existing treatment plans.
Assist with cleaning and laundry as needed, and support access to healthy meals and kitchen cleanup.
Communicate and collaborate with participants’ treatment teams and participate in required team, agency, and interdisciplinary meetings.
Promote cultural sensitivity, awareness, and competency in person-centered services.
Use crisis-prevention approaches to reduce use of emergency services and hospitalization, and collaborate with emergency services and acute care settings when needed.
Support harm reduction and connect participants to resources such as needle exchange, NARCAN, medication-assisted treatment, and substance use services.
Complete required documentation and data entry, including electronic health records and daily logs, by the end of each shift; complete required paperwork on time.
Maintain a regular work schedule and complete other assignments as requested by the supervisor.
Uphold New Narrative’s mission, values, policies, procedures, and protocols; follow directives and instructions.
Work collaboratively and independently as needed, remain flexible, set priorities, take initiative, and continue developing skills.
Complete at least 12 hours of annual continuing education in mental health or dual recovery and four hours of annual cultural competence training.
Maintain current CPR and First Aid certification and pass a Department of Human Services criminal history check.
Optionally participate in at least one on-call coordinator week per quarter.