Transit Crisis Navigator — Frontline Outreach Pro

Street Samaritans; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 42,000 - 66,000; Full time

Job summary

Street Samaritans in Chicago is seeking a Crisis Intervention Specialist to perform frontline outreach along the CTA Blue Line between Forest Park and Austin. You will work on trains, platforms and stations, contacting people in distress and delivering immediate, skilled, compassionate responses with telepsychiatry support from WOVEN Clinics.

This field-based role involves supervision, team collaboration, and connection to community partners for housing, benefits, and healthcare access.

Qualifications

• Minimum 2 years of experience in street outreach, peer support, harm reduction, mobile crisis, community health work, or a related field.
• Demonstrated ability to engage individuals in crisis or acute distress in a calm, non-judgmental, and effective manner.
• Comfort working in unstructured, unpredictable, and physically demanding field environments including transit stations and train cars.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build trust quickly with people who may be guarded, in distress, or resistant to help.
• Ability to work as part of a team and communicate clearly under pressure.
• Basic proficiency with mobile technology for documentation and dispatch.

Responsibilities

• Conduct proactive outreach to individuals on CTA trains and platforms, initiating contact in a non-threatening, trauma-informed, and dignity-centered manner.
• Receive and respond to rider-submitted reports via the program’s dispatch system, locating individuals on the correct train car and providing timely, appropriate attention.
• Conduct initial assessments of individual needs, including immediate safety, behavioral health status, substance use, and basic needs.
• Apply de-escalation techniques to defuse situations involving agitation, distress, or behavioral crisis in public transit environments.
• Facilitate warm referrals to clinical services, including real-time escalation to the Clinical Team Lead or telepsychiatry team for high-acuity encounters.
• Connect individuals to Mile Square Health Center for SUD treatment, methadone services, and pharmacy access, and to other community partners for housing, food, benefits, and basic needs.
• Provide harm reduction information and supplies as appropriate, including naloxone/Narcan, in accordance with program protocols.

Skills

Street outreach

Peer support

Harm reduction

Mobile crisis

Community health work

De-escalation

Trauma-informed care

Bilingual English/Spanish

Interpersonal skills

Team communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Social Work or related field

Equivalent life/work experience

Tools

Mobile data apps

Dispatch systems

Job description

Street Samaritans in Chicago is seeking a Crisis Intervention Specialist to perform frontline outreach along the CTA Blue Line between Forest Park and Austin. You will work on trains, platforms and stations, contacting people in distress and delivering immediate, skilled, compassionate responses with telepsychiatry support from WOVEN Clinics.

This field-based role involves supervision, team collaboration, and connection to community partners for housing, benefits, and healthcare access.