CRCL Crisis Responder

AVI Health & Community Services; Victoria; On-site; CAD 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

AVI Health & Community Services in Victoria, BC seeks a Crisis Responder for the CRCL team to deliver acute mobile crisis support and de-escalation for individuals 13 years and older, grounded in harm reduction and trauma-informed care.

You will collaborate with a multidisciplinary team to assess, intervene in crises, and facilitate safety planning, with referrals to services or escalation when necessary; two applicant streams are welcome—lived experience or formal education.

Qualifications

• Minimum 3–5 years relevant experience in mental health services, including crisis de-escalation and mobile crisis response.
• Experience with crisis intervention, safety planning, and referrals or escalation to emergency services.
• Knowledge of harm reduction and trauma-informed approaches.
• Cultural humility and ethical practice in crisis settings.

Responsibilities

• Provide acute mobile crisis support and de-escalation for persons 13+ experiencing mental health or substance use crises.
• Assess risk, perform suicide intervention, and develop safety plans.
• Coordinate referrals to community services and escalate to emergency services when needed.
• Work in a trauma-informed, person-centered framework with a team.

Skills

Emotional resilience

Humility

Conscientiousness

Nonviolent communication

Situational awareness

Education

Degree in mental health field

Crisis care education asset

Job description

AVI Health & Community Services (AVI) increases health equity by providing highly responsive, harm reduction -based HIV, hepatitis C, substance use, sexual health, mental health, and other community health services, and is informed by the voices of people with living experience. We envision a community where people can experience optimal health and wellness, and be free from stigma, marginalization, and criminalization.

Our work takes place in Kwakwaka'wakw, Nuu-chah-nulth, and Coast Salish territorial regions on what is colonially known as Vancouver Island. The rich and beautiful lands and waters of this Island have been home to over 50 First Nations for time immemorial; we respectfully acknowledge their past, present, and future sovereignty.

AVI CRISIS RESPONSE. COMMUNITY LED (CRCL):

The AVI CRCL (Crisis Response. Community Led) Team, Victoria is funded by the Province of British Columbia and the Canadian Mental Health Association. CRCL is a peer-assisted care program and a mobile crisis response team, led by persons with lived/living experience and mental health professionals who are able to de-escalate crises and develop community care plans with persons experiencing crisis.

The CRCL Team is an approach to responding to someone in crisis that focuses on health, well-being and community support. Utilizing a community-based, client centered, trauma-informed response, a peer-assisted model of care has been proven to help individuals navigate mental and social care services and reduce engagement with the justice system and emergency services.

The CRCL Victoria Team provides services on the territories of the Ləkʷəŋən peoples (Kosapsum and Songhees nations), as well as the W̱SÁNEĆ Nations.

JOB SUMMARY:

The CRCL Victoria Team will provide acute mobile crisis support and de-escalation services for persons 13 years of age and older experiencing mental health and/or substance use related crises.

Working in collaboration with all team members, the Crisis Responder is responsible for providing rapid point of service mental health crisis management and de-escalation, including assessment, suicide intervention and safety planning, as well as acute care planning, referrals to alternative services or escalation to emergency services.

Alongside the team, this role is grounded in person-centered, harm reduction and trauma informed approaches to care, which centers the needs and agency of the service user.

The Crisis Responder position is made up of two streams of applicants ; persons with lived and living knowledge and persons with educational knowledge.

This posting will consider applicants from either stream. Please refer to the Qualifications section for further details.

KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF A SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE:

• Emotional Resilience and ability to center the needs of the person in crisis
• Humility, flexibility and conscientiousness
• Ability to critically assess, make ethically informed decisions, and remain grounded in complex and dynamic situations.
• Ability to manage hostile interactions using non-violent communication, situational awareness and diffusing techniques.
• Ability to work mandatory, where and as needed.
  

QUALIFICATIONS:

The following qualifications must be outlined in your application, in order to be eligible:

• This is not an entry level position:
• Minimum 3-5 years relevant experience, including within mental health services, including crisis de-escalation, mobile crisis response and acute mental health services.

One of the following 2 streams:

Experiential Stream Qualification:

• Demonstrated experience utilizing lived/living knowledge in service delivery and advocacy
• Lived/living knowledge of mental health and mental health related crisis, including navigation of mental health and emergency services interventions, experience of victimization and persecution of mental health experiences, and/or criminalization of mental health experiences.

Education Stream Qualification:

• Degree in the mental health field (i.e., counselling, social work, psychiatric nursing, criminology and psychology)
• Additional Education related to crisis support and acute mental health care is an asset.
• Demonstrated knowledge and use of crisis intervention and de-escalation best practices, including:
• Situational Awareness, Scene Safety and Risk Mitigation Practices
• Effective nonviolent/nonjudgemental communication skills, including active listening, high-guidance and assertive communication practices.
• Demonstrated crisis intervention skills, including extensive experience with suicide and homicidal assessments, as well as demonstrated knowledge and experience developing safety plans
• Demonstrated skills, experience, and knowledge of harm reduction and health promotion practices.
• Demonstrated practice of cultural humility and trauma-informed approaches to care.
• Demonstrated commitment to personal development and ethical practice, including:
• Awareness of personal stressors and triggers, with active engagement in selfcare practices
• Demonstrated awareness of personal and implicit biases
• Reflexive practice that supports examination of personal motivations, judgements and feelings that may be activated by crisis work
• Demonstrated capacity to uphold professional boundaries.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the harmful effects of colonization, including relevant or applicable training/knowledge and experience in anti-racism, culturally safer care and decolonization.
• Demonstrated capacity to uphold a collaborative and team-based approach, including:
• Outstanding, strength-based problem-solving skills
• Outstanding trauma informed, direct communication skills
• Capacity to engage in self-reflection and personal accountability.
• Valid Class 5 BC Driver’s License, with “Normal Drivers Status”.
• Employment subject to criminal record check for working with vulnerable populations
• Employment requires already successfully completed CRCL Training Curriculum
  

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

CLCR is an emergency response team, supporting persons and their community/family experiencing mental health and substance use related crises.

As such, all team members are expected to perform the following duties and practices.

Working on an Emergency Response Team

At all times, the Crisis Responder is expected to: