Part-Time Peer Specialist - Swing Shift, CDF

DESC; Washington; On-site; USD 25,000 - 33,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Dental insurance

Life insurance

Long-term disability

Medical coverage (no employee premiums

EAP

FSA

ORCA card subsidy

Paid Time Off (pro-rated for PT)

Retirement Plan

Job summary

DESC seeks a Part-Time Peer Specialist for Swing Shift in Seattle, WA. The role focuses on crisis stabilization and peer-led support within a multidisciplinary team, leveraging lived experience to connect with clients and support recovery goals.

The position requires CPSS or CPSS-T certification (or ability to obtain within 60 days) and a commitment to trauma-informed care. The role offers union representation and a comprehensive benefits package, with a 0.6 FTE load and a Saturday–Monday

Qualifications

• Lived experience as a consumer of behavioral health services or related experience.
• Ability to use verbal de-escalation techniques in emergent situations.
• Trauma-informed approach to support recovery.

Responsibilities

• Assist participants with voicing their interests and goals via Goal Plans, Crisis Plans, WRAP and other methods.
• Plan, organize and co-facilitate recovery skills and educational group treatments.
• Advocate for client access to community resources and services; coordinate with providers for continuity of care.
• Use lived experience to connect with participants and support recovery.
• Provide basic tasks supporting operations and client care (food, laundry, cleaning).
• Handle phone consultations, monitor office security, answer calls, and perform admin duties.
• Maintain clinical and administrative records (goal planners, progress notes, risk assessments).
• Demonstrate DESC core values and follow agency policies; participate in QA reviews.
• Participate in verbal de-escalation and assist staff to maintain safety.
• Provide transportation for clients when needed.
• Attend onboarding and ongoing trainings; perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Lived experience

De-escalation

Trauma-informed

Education

CPSS credential

CPSS-T trainee

Job description

Part-Time Peer Specialist - Swing Shift, CDF

Seattle, WA (http://maps.google.com/maps?q=1600+South+Lane+Street+Seattle+WA+USA+98144) -CDF

Job Type

Part-time

Description

Shift & Schedule: Saturday, Sunday, Monday - Swing Shift (3:00pm - 11:30pm) (0.6 FTE)

Days Off: Tuesday - Friday

Shift Differential: $0.50 per hour

Insurance Benefits: Dental, Life, Long-term Disability, Medical (no premiums/payroll deductions for employee coverage)

Other Benefits: Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Flexible Spending Account (FSA), ORCA card subsidy, Paid Time Off (34 days per year for full-time, pro-rated for part-time), Retirement Plan

Union Representation: This position is a part of a union and is represented by SEIU Healthcare 1199NW.

About DESC

Recognized nationally as an innovator and leader in developing solutions to homelessness, DESC is a social services organization, supportive housing operator, and licensed behavioral health treatment provider focused on meeting the needs of people experiencing long‑term homelessness and living with complex behavioral health and other medical conditions. Approximately 3,000 people are actively receiving services from DESC at any given point in time. Our vision is a community where all people are shown compassion, treated with dignity, and everyone has a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home.

DESC operates five shelter/emergency housing programs, 19 permanent supportive housing facilities with over 1,750 units, several hundred additional scattered site apartments, and a range of behavioral health services including outpatient mental health and substance use disorder treatment, residential crisis stabilization, street outreach, mobile crisis response, and treatment for opioid use disorder.

Job Description

Crisis Solutions Center is a residential treatment facility that provides stabilization services to clients experiencing acute or ongoing behavioral health crises. Peer Specialists will work within a multi-disciplinary team and to create and implement detailed, client-centered care and safety plans; facilitate group and individual peer counseling; and ensure services are fully integrated with mental health, substance use, and primary care teams. They are an essential part of building rapport and developing positive relationships by relating to clients through their own lived experience. Peer Specialists will help develop and maintain a comprehensive list of community partners; participate in staff meetings and training; and maintain a safe and therapeutic environment.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Assist participants with voicing their interests and goals through a variety of approaches including Goal Plans, Crisis Plans, WRAP and other methods that express the individual's preferences for their recovery goals.
• Participate in planning, organizing and co-facilitating of recovery skills and educational group treatment services
• Advocate for client access to community resources and services; consult and collaborate with community providers to ensure continuity of care.
• Use lived/personal experience with mental health and/or substance use to build connections with program participants; utilize a trauma informed approach to assist participants in their recovery.
• Serve food, do laundry and change linens, help clean common areas, and occasionally clean up bodily fluids and biohazardous waste using appropriate PPE.
• Provide phone consultation for referents to the CSC, monitor office security cameras, answer phone calls, and other administrative duties.
• Maintain current and complete clinical and administrative records, including but not limited to goal planners, progress notes, safety and risk assessments, shift summary notes, and care-coordination between internal and/or external partners.
• Demonstrate DESC core values and professionalism in all client and staff interactions; follow agency clinical policies and procedures; participate in quality assurance reviews when assigned
• Participate in verbal de-escalation in emergent situations and be willing and able to assist other staff as needed to maintain a safe and secure environment.
• Provide transportation for clients (such as appointments outside of CSC) when needed.
• Attend a 2-week onboarding process upon hire, as well as other full-day trainings on an ongoing basis.
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Current Certified Peer Support Specialist (CPSS) or Certified Peer Support Specialist Trainee (CPSS-T) credential through the Washington State Department of Health or ability to gain certification within 60 days of hire.
• Proof of successful completion of the Washington State Health Care Authority's Certified Peer Support Specialist Training prior to hire.
• Lived experience as a consumer of behavioral health services (mental health and/or substance use treatment) or be the parent or legal guard