Recovery Engagement Specialist (Part Time, 3p-11p)

Why join Connections

If you’re passionate about making a meaningful impact, working in a mission-driven environment, and helping redefine behavioral health crisis care, we invite you to join us at Connections Health Solutions. Together, we’re saving lives and changing the face of behavioral health. 

About Connections 

We’re not just behavioral health people—we’re crisis people. When individuals need support now, we provide immediate-access behavioral health crisis care that stabilizes, supports, and connects people to the resources they need to continue their recovery. 

Founded by emergency room psychiatrists, our physician-led, data-driven model is backed by more than 15 years of crisis care expertise. Recognized by SAMHSA and the National Council for Mental Wellbeing as a national best practice, we’ve delivered critical crisis care to thousands of people during some of the most challenging moments of their lives. Our mission is simple and unwavering: providing immediate care to people in crisis and connecting them to long-term support within their community. 

About the RESET Center, operated by Connections 

Located in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood, the RESET Center provides an alternative destination for individuals who are found to be publicly intoxicated (due to alcohol and/or drugs) and would otherwise be transported to the emergency department or jail.  

In collaboration and partnership with local law enforcement and public health agencies, the RESET Center aims to effectively divert intoxicated individuals away from the criminal justice and/or healthcare systems to improve outcomes, reduce systemic burden, and support connection to needed resources within the community.  

What You'll Do:

The Recovery Engagement Specialist at the RESET Center plays a vital role in creating a safe, calm, and supportive environment for community members under the influence of alcohol and/or other drugs. The RESET Center provides an alternative destination for individuals who would otherwise be transported to the emergency department or jail—offering a compassionate, trauma-informed, and person-centered approach to care. 

The Recovery Engagement Specialist supports individuals through the sobering process, perform basic monitoring, document participant status, foster trust and engagement, and ensure participant comfort, hydration, and safety. This role works as part of a coordinated multidisciplinary team and deeply values lived experience—including homelessness, recovery, incarceration, harm reduction engagement, and experiences with substance use—as a source of expertise, connection, and credibility in supporting participants. 

Participant Support & Monitoring 

• Take participant vital signs as delegated per protocol. 

• Monitor participants throughout the sobering process, ensuring adherence to guidelines and general well-being. 

• Respond promptly to participant needs and requests with empathy, patience, and excellent customer service. 

• Provide snacks, hydration, blankets, and other comfort measures to support safe sobering. 
• Observe participant behavior and condition, completing required observation logs, rounds, and milieu documentation accurately and in real time. 
• Identify escalating or unsafe behavior and promptly notify supervisory or clinical team members. 

Engagement & Relationship Building 

• Engage participants in supportive, compassionate, and non-judgmental ways, with respect for their individual experience and autonomy. 
• Leverage personal or lived experience (where comfortable) to build trust, foster rapport, and demonstrate understanding of recovery and harm reduction pathways. 

Environment & Safety 

• Support safety and calm tone within the center through trauma-informed communication and de-escalation techniques. 

• Assist with environmental cleanliness and sanitation, ensuring all spaces are organized, hygienic, and supportive of a dignified participant experience. 
• Work collaboratively with other team members—including health workers, safety monitors, peers, and supervisors—to maintain an orderly, non-judgmental environment. 

Training & Development 

• Participate in ongoing training and development opportunities, including: 
• Motivational interviewing
• Effects of alcohol and other substances
• Trauma-informed service delivery
• Crisis and de-escalation practices
• Customer service and team-based care
• Performs all other duties as assigned
• Maintain proficiency with evolving program protocols and standards of care.

What You'll Bring:

• High School Diploma or equivalent
• At least one year of personal recovery
• Experience working with diverse populations including: 
  • Individuals experiencing substance use and intoxication 
  • People living with homelessness or housing instability
  • Individuals impacted by the criminal legal system
  • People experiencing mental health crises
• Familiarity with: 
  • Harm reduction 
  • Restorative and recovery-oriented practice
  • Trauma-informed care
• Lived experience with substance use, recovery, homelessness, or incarceration is highly valued and actively welcomed
• Must obtain Overdose Prevention and Narcan Administration training within 30 days of hire