Part-Time - Peer Support Specialist

Transitions Mental Health Asso•San Luis Obispo, CA

3d•$26 - $28•Onsite

About The Position

The part-time Mobile Crisis Peer Support Specialist is a member of the Mobile Crisis Team serving San Luis Obispo County. Drawing on lived experience with mental health and/or substance use challenges, recovery, or behavioral health services, the specialist connects with and supports people experiencing behavioral health crises. The role is collaborative and recovery-oriented, helping individuals feel heard, respected, and involved in decisions during difficult experiences. Work takes place in community settings alongside crisis response staff and may involve engaging the person in crisis, supporting family members or other involved parties, gathering information, assisting with collaborative safety planning, communicating with community partners, documenting, driving, and supporting service linkage. The position includes Mobile Crisis-specific training, field orientation, collaborative safety planning, supervision, and ongoing skill development. This is a part-time, non-exempt position scheduled for 20 hours per week. The anticipated hiring range is $25.50–$26.50 per hour; the full salary schedule is $25.50–$28.33 per hour. Work is field-based, with daily and frequent computer documentation and frequent driving, including transporting clients. The program provides services seven days a week, and schedules are developed with team members and management based on program needs. Shifts may include days, evenings, overnight hours, weekends, and holidays. The work involves moderate to substantial physical activity, including possible lifting or moving up to 50 pounds, and moderate risks requiring safety precautions in potentially intense situations. Transitions – Mental Health Association (TMHA) is a nonprofit agency providing mental health services and support to individuals and families. Its mission is to eliminate stigma and promote recovery and wellness for people with mental illness through work, housing, community, and family support services. TMHA describes its workplace as supportive and inclusive, values diversity and individual contributions, and promotes trauma-informed care, collaborative communication, and respectful, person-centered services.

Requirements

Current California Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist Certification, or ability to obtain certification within TMHA’s established timeframe; successful completion of required Medi-Cal Mobile Crisis-specific training, TMHA field orientation and competency requirements, and at least 10 hours of annual position-relevant training.
Personal lived experience with mental health and/or substance use challenges, recovery, or behavioral health services, and the ability to use that experience appropriately in a professional peer role.
Ability to facilitate communication, support care coordination, and collaborate within the peer role with behavioral health providers, emergency responders, community partners, families, and other systems.
Strong interpersonal, collaborative, oral, written, and communication skills.
Organizational and time-management skills, with the ability to learn and use electronic documentation, communication, and tracking systems.
Ability to work independently and flexibly.
Ability to handle intense situations, exercise sound judgment and decision-making, and remain calm and clearheaded under pressure.
Ability to work effectively with people of varied ages, backgrounds, identities, and socioeconomic levels.
Ability to possess and maintain good physical and mental health.
Ability to work well on a team and maintain a professional, respectful workplace attitude.
Willingness to work with supervisory oversight and direction, accept coaching and feedback, and seek supervisory or clinical consultation when appropriate.
Ability to maintain professional boundaries and confidentiality within the peer role.
Reliable attendance; the position requires face-to-face interaction with clients and/or employees.
Ability to promote equality, respect diversity, and deliver culturally responsive services; knowledge of dimensions of diversity, including mental health, gender, race, and ethnicity.
Ability to follow applicable safety rules and take reasonable precautions to protect oneself, coworkers, clients, and others encountered through TMHA business.
Ability to travel throughout San Luis Obispo County, meet TMHA driving requirements when driving is assigned, and work an assigned schedule that may include day, evening, overnight, weekend, and holiday shifts.
At least 18 years of age; valid California driver’s license, at least two years of driving experience, and a DMV record meeting TMHA’s current vehicle insurance requirements. May need to use a reliable personal vehicle and auto insurance.
Must comply with a TB assessment (and potentially a TB test) and receive criminal record clearance through fingerprinting.
Ability to successfully complete First Aid and CPR training.

Nice To Haves

Experience in peer support, behavioral health, substance use recovery, crisis services, outreach, homelessness services, emergency or urgent behavioral health, or multidisciplinary team settings.
Experience supporting people with significant behavioral health challenges.
Mobile crisis experience; helpful but not required.
Knowledge of San Luis Obispo County behavioral health and community resources.
Bilingual skills or experience working across cultures relevant to the communities served.

Responsibilities

Respond in the community as part of the Mobile Crisis Team, providing compassionate, trauma-informed, recovery-oriented peer support to people experiencing behavioral health crises.
Use listening, empathy, encouragement, and lived experience when appropriate to reduce distress, build trust, promote hope, and support individuals’ dignity, preferences, and choices.
Collaborate with Crisis Specialists and other team members to engage individuals, gather relevant non-clinical and collateral information, communicate observations, and identify immediate needs and safety concerns.
Assist individuals with collaborative safety planning, coping strategies, natural supports, and connections to behavioral health, substance use, housing, medical, peer, and other community resources.
Support family members, caregivers, and other involved supports; assist with communication with providers, law enforcement, EMS, hospitals, shelters, and other community partners as appropriate and within the peer role.
Explain general next steps, referrals, transportation, and voluntary or involuntary crisis processes within training and role boundaries, and support transitions to appropriate treatment and community services.
Complete assigned non-clinical documentation, tracking, and shift handoffs accurately and on time while maintaining confidentiality and following privacy and information-sharing requirements.
Assist in preparing for community responses, drive Mobile Crisis program vehicles when assigned, and follow agency procedures for transportation, field safety, and situational awareness.
Participate in supervision, staff meetings, training, debriefing, and professional development; seek clinical or supervisory consultation when needed or when a situation exceeds the peer role.
Promote and maintain trauma-informed practices and TMHA’s Guidelines for Collaborative Communication in services and team meetings.
Promote culturally responsive, person-centered, and recovery-oriented practices.
Perform other duties and responsibilities assigned by the Mobile Crisis Team Lead.