Casual - Dispatch, Screening and Systems Navigator - CRCL Comox Valley

html Job Description

AVI Health & Community Services (AVI) is a multidisciplinary community-based organization providing HIV, hepatitis C, harm reduction, and mental health services on Vancouver Island. AVI works within a social justice and health promotion framework to ensure equity and access to services for all. In the North Island, AVI provides services in the Comox Valley on the lands of the K'moks First Nation and in Campbell River on the lands of the Wei Wai Kum First Nation and Wei Wai Kai First Nation. Current programs include:

• Harm reduction education and distribution
• Positive wellness
• Health promotion
• Prescribed Alternatives (PA)
• Mental health crisis response

Join our supportive, dedicated, and client-centered team in promoting the health, dignity, and well-being of all people affected by HIV, HCV, and substance use by delivering sex-positive and harm reduction-based education, prevention, and/or support services.

AVI Crisis Response, Community-Led (CRCL)

The AVI Crisis Response, Community-Led (CRCL) is funded by the Province of British Columbia and the Canadian Mental Health Association. CRCL is a mobile crisis response team, led by persons with lived/living experience and mental health professionals who are able to de-escalate crises and develop community care plans with persons experiencing crisis. The CRCL team is an alternate approach to responding to someone in crisis that focuses on health, well-being, and community support.

Utilizing a community-based, client-centered, trauma-informed response, a peer-assisted model of care has been proven to help individuals navigate mental and social care services and reduce engagement with the justice system and emergency services.

In the spirit of reconciliation and community empowerment, K'moks First Nation and AVI Health and Community Services have joined hands to support and create a comprehensive and culturally safe service initiative. KFN provides guidance through the CRCL program development to ensure Indigenous perspectives are woven throughout and support Indigenous peoples accessing this service. The CRCL team provides services on the territories of the K'moks First Nation.

Job Summary

The CRCL team will provide acute mobile crisis support and de-escalation services for persons 13 years of age and older experiencing mental health and/or substance use-related crises. Working in collaboration with all team members, the Systems, Screening, and Dispatch Navigator is the first point of contact via the phone and is responsible for assessment and acuity triage and team dispatch. This role is responsible for determining the level of risk, deciding the most appropriate response, and dispatching/maintaining communication with teams attending to crises. Alongside the team, this role is grounded in person-centered, harm reduction, and trauma-informed approaches to care, which center the needs and agency of the service user.

Key Duties and Responsibilities Screening and Dispatch

• Manage the central call line for the CRCL team, including phone lines and text communication.
• Assess and triage calls and text messages from the community, including assessment screening and triage, while initiating Community Care Plans and resourcing community supports.
• Develop support and safety plans for persons in crisis and/or for third-party callers.
• Consult with community resources, family members, and peers, as directed by and appropriate to the caller's needs.
• Participate in trainings, case management, daily debriefing, client follow-up, and staff check-ins.
• Redirect callers to access pertinent resources, including 911 and/or the crisis line, where appropriate.
• Quickly and accurately engage in assessments and obtain all information needed to assist the CRCL team in responding to crisis calls.
• Gather and share vital and relevant information, liaising between the caller and the CRCL team, updating the CRCL team on the status/status change of the person in crisis.
• Provide non-judgmental emotional telephone and text support and crisis intervention, including assessment, problem-solving, and community resourcing.
• Complete thorough assessments of suicidal ideation and/or homicidal ideation, including planning or attempts in progress.
• Use assessment and screening tools to determine urgency and involve the CRCL team or other emergency services, depending on the severity and needs of the individual and care provider(s) onsite.
• Assess needs and risks of callers, referring to appropriate services and providing short-term follow-up during wait times until CRCL support can be arranged.
• Support behind-the-scenes systems, including communication with internal AVI programs, staff scheduling, payroll, and leave management.
• Consult with community members and resources, as appropriate to client care.
• Quickly prioritize multiple competing tasks using a methodological approach to problem-solving, decision-making, and clear communication.
• Assess, identify, plan, intervene, and evaluate bio-psycho-social-spiritual care needs in accordance with best practices and document accordingly.
• Monitor team workload and location, input/evaluate, and triage according to capacity.
• Implement active rescue when an intervention is required (e.g., call 911, advise use of lifesaving first aid, etc.).
• Maintain confidential client case files, including Community Care Plans, safety, and wellness assessments.
• Maintain familiarity with Comox Valley resources, their interrelationships, and their function in delivering care in the community (e.g., mental health and substance use responsive services).

Crisis Response

• Model a high degree of cultural competency, including ensuring services are culturally sensitive and incorporate Indigenous knowledge, practices, and approaches to healing and wellness.
• Be ready and able to respond to mental health and substance use-related crises.
• Triage, assess, and adjust responses depending on call acuity, severity, and other incoming calls.
• Think critically and respond quickly, especially in critical situations and when deciding the next course of action.
• Respond to/answer back-to-back calls.
• Communicate effectively with all teams attending calls, including collaborative and directive styles of communication.
• Remain responsive to incoming calls up until the end of the shift and/or when mandatory emergency overtime is in effect.
• Demonstrate emotional resilience, including and especially within complex situations.
• Work effectively as a team, including respectful communication throughout and following an emergency crisis response.
• Continuously center the needs of the person experiencing the crisis.
• Effectively and professionally engage other care providers, including when advocating for a person in crisis and/or when critically assessing and determining the next course of action.
• Develop comprehensive safety plans and establish post-crisis follow-up care, centering the needs of the person in crisis.

Situational Awareness, Scene Safety, and Unpredictable Working Conditions

• Utilize a trauma-informed approach, including with persons who are escalated and who use language or express beliefs that could be offensive or triggering for staff.
• Decenter themselves to provide care to all persons accessing our services.
• Utilize situational awareness, assessment, de-escalation, and mental health training to work safely within changing and unpredictable environments.
• Be prepared for and able to adapt to changing work environments, including:
• All kinds of weather
• For extended periods
• Within and around diverse types of substance use
• Within and around respiratory illnesses
• Within potentially hazardous dwellings
• Within unknown and unpredictable environments
• Perform over-the-phone and in-person assessments to critically assess and determine the next course of action, including in cases where dispatch was unable to provide detailed information.
• Remain on scene and able to critically assess, including when a situation escalates and/or requires a higher level of care.
• Professionally engage service providers, including police, ambulance, fire, and healthcare providers.
• Utilize ongoing assessment, rapport building, and universal precautions.
• Utilize direct questions (open and closed-ended), direct feedback, and motivational interviewing skills.

Program Development and Accountability

• Be open to feedback, engage in self-reflective practices, and demonstrate humility.
• Understand and practice both collective and personal accountability.
• Be self-directed and able to perform all duties and professional obligations without prompting or reminding.
• Demonstrate and engage in collaborative support and relationship building with K'moks First Nation Community and its members.
• Support program building, public relations, and events to promote the CRCL program within the Comox Valley.
• Adhere to all CRCL Program Policies and Practices.
• Adhere to AVI's Code of Ethics.

Qualifications

• Strong understanding of colonialism and the ways in which historical and ongoing colonization impacts Indigenous People.
• Minimum 3-5 years relevant experience, including mobile crisis response, crisis de-escalation, dispatch, or crisis line experience (an asset).
• Degree in the mental health field (counseling, social work, psychiatric nursing).
• Model a high degree of cultural competency, including ensuring services are culturally sensitive and incorporate Indigenous knowledge, practices, and approaches to healing and wellness.
• Crisis intervention skills, including extensive experience with situational awareness, mental health assessments, and suicide intervention.
• Able to respectfully engage and support Indigenous relationships with a trauma-informed and decolonial lens.
• Demonstrated skills, experience, and knowledge of harm reduction and health promotion practices.
• Demonstrated practice of social justice, cultural humility, and trauma-informed approaches to care.
• Relevant or applicable training/experience in anti-racism and an analysis of colonialism and the ways in which historical and ongoing colonization impacts Indigenous People.
• First aid and CPR level C.
• Valid Class 5 BC Driver's License with Normal Driver's Status.
• Driver's Abstract (AVI will review the past year's driving record. Drivers will need to have no suspensions or prohibitions or 1 passenger-only restrictions or a Driver's Factor of 1.1 or lower).
• Employment subject to a criminal record check for working with vulnerable populations.

Key Characteristics

• Ability to manage hostile interactions, utilizing non-violent communication, situational awareness, and diffusing techniques.
• Emotional resilience and ability to center the needs of the person in crisis, including persons who are angry, hostile, or expressing values and beliefs opposed to yours/the team's.
• Humility, flexibility, and self-directed.
• Ability to critically assess and remain grounded in complex, changing situations.
• Ability to work mandatory overtime to continue providing emergency responses where and as needed.

Position Details

• Pay: $36.06/hour to start with stepped increases based on your seniority with AVI. (Pay for this role is based on the BCGEU pay grid 38).
• Term: Starting December 1, 2026.
• Hours and Schedule: This position works a 4-week rotation, and the shifts are 12 hours long. The rotation is: 4 days on, 4 days off with shifts running from 8:15 am to 8:15 pm. Subject to change based on operational needs of the program.
• Location: CRCL office and throughout Comox Valley responding to crises and in the community and where needed, including in people's homes, community centers, and outside/with folks surviving outside.
• Weekend Shift Premium: Weekend Shift Premium of an additional $0.50/hour applies to each hour worked between 00:01 hours Saturday and 24:00 hours Sunday. Some shifts may qualify for this additional premium.
• Union: AVI is a union environment under the Collective Agreement: HEABC & Health Services & Support Community Subsector Association 2025-2029, and this role is a BCGEU union position.
• Pension: If you are already a member of the Municipal Pension Plan (MPP), you can continue with them at AVI immediately. At this time, AVI contributes an additional 9.31% towards your pension account. If you are not already a member of the Municipal Pension Plan, part-time staff may become eligible after 2 years with AVI.
• Other Perks: This position receives Stat In Lieu, which means it is paid an extra 5% in lieu of vacation and 5% in lieu of stats, meaning your hourly rate is 10% higher than listed.
• Hours of work, days off, and work area may be subject to change.

To Apply

Please click on 'Apply to position' and submit your statement of interest, resume (optional), and/or cover letter (optional). This position is internally posted only. Please send your statement of interest by Friday, October 16, 2026, at 5 pm.

AVI is committed to equity and diversity, and we strongly encourage applications from, but not limited to, folks who identify as Indigenous Persons, persons of color, racialized persons, persons living with a disability, persons who use/d drugs, persons with experience of sex work, persons who live with HIV and/or hepatitis C, and persons representing diverse genders and sexualities. Accommodation is available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process. As AVI is a union environment, internal staff will be prioritized in the hiring process. We would like to thank all those that apply, but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.