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About The Position
Wellness Equity Alliance is a national multidisciplinary health organization that designs and delivers integrated, community-based care for populations most impacted by health inequities. We do this through mobile and field-based models, providing medical care, behavioral health services, substance use treatment, harm reduction, and care coordination in nontraditional settings such as encampments, schools, reentry sites, and rural communities as well as with sovereign tribal nations. Grounded in trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and data-driven practices, WEA combines clinical expertise, lived experience, and advanced population health analytics to reduce barriers to care, improve continuity, and strengthen local systems. We have partnered with more than 60 public agencies, managed care plans, and community-based organizations across the U.S. to implement scalable, sustainable programs that are advancing health equity and improving outcomes for historically marginalized populations.
We are known as Renegades, Rebels, Disruptors and Dreamers. If that sounds like you, we want you on our team.
Indio Crisis Walk-in Center
WEA’s Crisis Walk-In (CWI) Center, located on the behavioral health campus of Riverside University Health System in Indio, CA, offers 24/7 walk-in, voluntary crisis services for adults and children ages 5 and older. Designed to provide immediate, accessible care, the center serves up to 20 patients at a time, including both youth and adults.
Position Summary
As a Peer Support Specialist, you are the “warm welcome” and the living proof that recovery is not just possible, but happening right now. Working the Weekday Shift (Mon–Wed), you serve as the front-line expert for adults entering our Crisis Walk-In (CWI) center. You aren’t just a staff member; you are a Peer-Expert who uses your own lived experience with mental health or substance use recovery to build immediate, non-clinical rapport with neighbors in their most vulnerable moments.
In this role, you bridge the gap between crisis and stability. You will work alongside a multidisciplinary clinical team, ensuring that every individual is met with dignity rather than a diagnosis. Whether you are de-escalating a tense situation, helping a participant navigate the complex behavioral health system, or co-creating a safety plan, your primary tool is your authentic story. You are here to replace fear with hope and to ensure that no one walks their recovery path alone.
Requirements
- Must have personal, lived experience with mental health challenges and/or substance use recovery.
- Must be comfortable and skilled at using your own recovery journey as a professional tool to inspire hope and model stability for others.
- Must possess (or obtain within 6 months of hire) a valid Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist Certification issued by the California Mental Health Services Mental Health Services Authority (CalMHSA).
- High School Diploma or GED equivalent or higher is required.
- Ability to remain grounded and empathetic in a fast-paced, high-intensity clinical environment.
- Strong verbal and written skills for documenting peer notes and collaborating with a multidisciplinary clinical team.
- A deep commitment to serving a diverse population in the Coachella Valley with dignity and respect.
- Must be able to pass a standard background check and drug screening (consistent with healthcare facility requirements).
- Must have reliable transportation to the Indio site for 7:00 AM shift starts.
Nice To Haves
- Certified Parent, Caregiver, and Family Member (CPCF) Specialization highly preferred.
- Youth/Transition-Age Youth (TAY) Peer Specialization highly preferred.
- Ability to provide peer support in fluent Spanish qualifies for a pay differential.
- Existing training in Intentional Peer Support (IPS), WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan), or Motivational Interviewing.
Responsibilities
- Serve as the primary point of contact for adults entering in distress, using lived experience to model calm and hope while lowering the “temperature” of the room.
- Utilize non-clinical, peer-based de-escalation techniques (such as the “Intentional Peer Support” model) to build immediate rapport and prevent the need for more restrictive interventions.
- Monitor the “Front Door” energy, proactively engaging with participants who appear overwhelmed or anxious before a crisis peaks.
- Facilitate the creation of individualized Safety Plans that focus on the participant’s strengths, triggers, and preferred coping strategies—not just “contracting for safety.”
- Support participants in the vulnerable hours following a clinical assessment, helping them process their experience and internalize their immediate stabilization goals.
- Introduce participants to wellness tools (like WRAP or similar frameworks) that they can take home as tangible resources for self-management.
- Personally assist participants in navigating the “Front Door” of social services, housing resources, and outpatient programs.
- Act as the liaison between the CWIC and community-based peer organizations, ensuring participants have a “peer-to-peer” connection waiting for them upon discharge.
- Educate participants on how to advocate for their own needs within the behavioral health system, empowering them to become active participants in their care.
- Participate in multidisciplinary team huddles to provide the peer perspective on participant care, ensuring the team sees the person behind the crisis.
- Maintain accurate, timely, and person-centered documentation that reflects the participant’s progress and the unique value of the peer intervention.
Benefits
- Total Potential: Up to $37.00/hr via differentials
- Lifestyle Balance: Enjoy 4 days off in a row, every week.
- Base Pay: $31.00 – $35.00/hr
- Bilingual Differential: +$2.00/hr (Spanish/English)
- Sign-On Bonus: $500 “Ready-to-Work” Bonus (For active CA PSS Certification)
- Job Type: Full-Time at 36 paid hours per week
- Schedule: Fixed Block (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday)
- Hours: 7:00 AM – 7:30 PM (includes mandatory rest and meal periods)
- The 4-Day Weekend: Every single week, you have four consecutive days off (Thursday–Sunday).
- Predictability: No on-call shifts, no last-minute schedule rotations, and no surprise overtime.
- Fewer Commutes: Reduce the gas, the mileage, and the time on the road commuting only 3 times per week.
- Lived Experience as Expertise: You are an expert in navigating the challenges of the behavioral health system. Our clinical team views your lived experience as a vital diagnostic and stabilization tool.
- Supportive Supervision: We provide regular, peer-specific supervision and debriefing.
- Professional Growth: We provide ongoing training in advanced peer practices.
