Crisis Line Responder - 590

Title: Crisis Line Responder

Position Type: Full Time

Program: Crisis Response – 590 Grant

Who we are:

C4 was founded in 1972 to help people released from psychiatric hospitals into the Uptown and

Edgewater communities stabilize in the community. Since that time, C4’s service area has expanded to rekindle hope for individuals and families on Chicago’s north and west sides, remaining committed to community-level, system-focused interventions; C4 always seeks to avoid restrictive levels of care and maximize families’ agency to lead their recovery, allowing them to heal in their homes and community.

C4 is the leader in building hope and breaking down barriers – from the personal to the systemic - for Chicago’s systematically disadvantaged communities through the delivery of effective, empirically supported, and trauma-informed mental health services. C4 seeks to equip 7,000 individuals annually to help them move from trauma to living, to working and thriving within their community.

Our Mission - Community Counseling Centers of Chicago (C4), a behavioral health advocate and social service provider, offers quality, comprehensive customer-oriented services tailored to the diversity of its consumers.

Our Vision - Community Counseling Centers of Chicago (C4) will be, and will be recognized as, essential to the wellbeing of the communities we serve.

Philosophy - C4 believes that people recovering from mental illness and emotional trauma are able to live, work and thrive in the community.

Job Description

The purpose of this position is to stabilize consumers in psychiatric crisis. Responders will triage crisis needs, dispatch to mobile crisis, provide community outreach, promote services, assist with linkage, conduct follow-up, and support addressing Social Determinants of Health needs.

Responder will engage with callers to state-funded Crisis Line to promote mental health engagement, share resources, and provide brief interventions. Responder will assist callers in achieving and maintaining recovery and resiliency goals in a culturally sensitive and appropriate manner. In accordance with consumers goals and preferences, service(s) shall consist of interventions to facilitate illness self-management, skill-building, identification and use of natural supports, and use of community resources. Work may be stressful due to acuity of consumers symptoms and trauma histories and/or tight documentation deadlines.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Answer crisis calls in response to mental health crises in various Chicago communities
• Assess the client for indicators of abuse
• As appropriate, provide brief and immediate mental health services referral, linkage, and consultation with other mental health service providers
• Provide case management, outreach and aftercare services
• Work cooperatively with other members of the crisis team, including co-workers and supervisors
• Maintain compliance with confidentiality policies and procedures at all times
• Maintain positive and mutually respectful relationships with other human service providers, entitlement agencies, health care vendors, and the community
• Assist with outcome measures
• Maintain compliance at all times with clinical documentation, timelines and agency policies and procedures including meeting required timeframes for documentation and service notes
• Report to assigned supervisor and actively seek consultation whenever necessary or requested by supervisor
• Attend clinical meetings and trainings
• Other duties as assigned by supervisor

Location and Work Conditions:

Although the Responder will be based at one of C4s sites, services are provided telephonically and remote work is permitted. Responder will occasionally be required to report on site for the purpose of trainings and meetings. Shifts are in 8-hour increments with day, evening, overnight, and weekend shifts available. Work may be stressful due to consumer behaviors, periods of high call volume, or tight deadlines. Responder must be willing to work certain weekends, some overnight shifts, and occasional holidays.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Social Work, Psychology, or a related field preferred
• One year of crisis experience in a behavioral health or hospital setting preferred
• Candidate with lived experience, who comes from communities of service and possesses language and cultural competencies is preferred.

Competencies Required (Skills, Knowledge and Experience):

• Ability to be respectful of the diverse cultures of the people served and to provide culturally appropriate, competent and individualized treatment in accordance with each clients age, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, and culture
• Knowledge of and ability to use appropriate behavior management techniques
• Understanding of personal and professional boundaries
• Ability to plan, develop and manage multiple projects
• Organizational skills
• Time and stress management skills
• Communication skills to include interpersonal, teamwork, and collaboration skills
• Conflict resolution and diplomacy skills
• Computer literacy
• Problem solving skills
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to plan, develop and manage multiple projects
• Proficient in Windows environment

Equal Opportunity Statement
Decisions and criteria governing the employment relationship with all employees at Community Counseling Centers of Chicago (C4) are made in a non-discriminatory manner, without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, pregnancy, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, age, FMLA status, or any other factor determined to be unlawful by federal, state, or local statutes.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by the individual(s) assigned to this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, and skills required. Management reserves the right to modify, add, or remove duties and to assign other duties, as necessary. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and People of Color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. We are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles