Pueblo Shelter Clinician

Paragon • Pueblo, CO

21h • Onsite

About The Position

The Pueblo Shelter Clinician provides comprehensive, trauma-informed, Housing First-aligned behavioral health services to adults experiencing homelessness in a shelter setting. The clinician delivers person-centered care that accounts for each client’s physical and emotional circumstances and recovery goals. Services include psychiatric diagnostic evaluations, treatment planning, individual and group therapy, family sessions when clinically appropriate, crisis intervention, and coordination of case management and housing supports. The role aims to reduce barriers to care and support stabilization and recovery without requiring clients to navigate multiple systems independently.

The clinician works within a multidisciplinary shelter team and coordinates with care managers, housing navigators, peer support specialists, medical staff, shelter operations staff, and community partners. The position involves directing appropriate clinical interventions, coordinating referrals and wraparound supports, advocating for clients in housing systems, and contributing to the development of shelter-based behavioral health programming. The clinician is expected to use cultural humility, harm reduction, and respect for client dignity and autonomy, and to adapt care to a fast-paced, non-traditional shelter environment.

The position is full-time in Pueblo, Colorado, with a Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. schedule. The clinician must live in or near the posting location and be willing to travel to homes and communities. A valid driver’s license and auto insurance are required. Salary is $60,000–$75,000 for provisionally licensed staff and $75,000–$85,000 for fully licensed staff.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in Counseling, Social Work, Clinical Psychology, or a related field.
• Provisional clinical licensure such as LPCC, LSW, or LMFTC; licenses must remain current and valid during employment.
• Valid driver’s license and auto insurance.
• Willingness to travel to homes and communities.
• Must live in or near the location of the posting.
• Ability to use and adapt DBT, CBT, Motivational Interviewing, and trauma-focused interventions in shelter-based, low-barrier settings.
• Understanding of Housing First principles, harm reduction frameworks, and coordinated entry systems.
• Familiarity with barriers affecting unhoused populations, including trauma histories, co-occurring disorders, domestic violence, justice-system involvement, and immigration-related stressors.
• Strong written and oral communication skills, including effective communication in community-based, non-clinical environments.
• High-quality documentation skills, including assessments, treatment plans, and progress notes that reflect shelter-based service delivery.
• Understanding of HIPAA, protected health information, and confidentiality requirements in shared shelter spaces.
• Ability to work independently, manage a complex caseload, and prioritize effectively in a dynamic, high-need setting.
• Strong conflict-resolution and de-escalation skills appropriate to shelter environments.
• Ability to build trust and therapeutic relationships with people and families from diverse backgrounds, including those with histories of trauma, marginalization, and distrust of systems.
• Demonstrated cultural humility and sensitivity to people experiencing homelessness.

Nice To Haves

• Fully licensed as an LPC, LCSW, or LMFT.
• Minimum two years of behavioral health or clinical service experience preferred.
• Bilingual Spanish skills, depending on location.
• Knowledge of community resources, social services, and housing systems in the Pueblo area.

Responsibilities

• Complete and routinely update trauma-informed psychiatric diagnostic evaluations and treatment plans that incorporate housing status, survival stressors, client goals, Housing First principles, harm reduction, and stabilization and recovery milestones.
• Provide crisis intervention in the shelter, including de-escalation, safety planning, and coordination with Paragon’s 24/7 crisis stabilization program.
• Conduct individual therapy using evidence-based modalities such as CBT, DBT, Motivational Interviewing, and trauma-focused approaches adapted for housing instability and co-occurring disorders.
• Conduct family sessions when clinically appropriate, with sensitivity to family separation, child welfare involvement, and reunification goals.
• Facilitate recovery-focused groups tailored to shelter residents, potentially covering trauma recovery, substance use, emotional regulation, healthy relationships, life skills, and community systems.
• Help clients develop practical coping skills, strengthen self-concept and social skills, and build self-efficacy and overall well-being.
• Adapt therapeutic approaches, session formats, and meeting locations to client needs and shelter conditions.
• Uphold professional ethics, HIPAA compliance, confidentiality, and high-quality documentation appropriate to shelter-based services.
• Deliver culturally responsive, trauma-informed services that honor clients’ lived experiences, including histories of domestic violence, incarceration, immigration trauma, or system involvement.
• Work as a core member of the multidisciplinary shelter team and recommend or direct clinical interventions appropriate to client needs and goals.
• Direct care managers in arranging wraparound supports such as food and hygiene resources, housing transitions, coordinated entry and waitlist navigation, vital documents, public benefits, childcare, and education or vocational training.
• Coordinate with housing navigators and community partners to connect clients with transitional housing, permanent supportive housing, and rapid rehousing; advocate for clients with coordinated entry systems and housing providers.
• Recommend skill-building and harm reduction interventions that care managers can reinforce in the shelter setting.
• Identify systemic barriers to care for unhoused populations and recommend solutions to the multidisciplinary team.
• Submit progress summaries to referring agencies and maintain appropriate contact with agencies and community partners, including shelters, courts, probation, and child welfare.
• Support ongoing development and adaptation of the shelter-based behavioral health program to reflect best practices.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Company-paid health, dental, vision, life, short-term disability, and long-term disability insurance.
• Flexible work hours.
• Discretionary Time Off (DTO).
• 401(k) retirement plan.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
• Professional development support.
• Referral bonuses.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level