Alchemy Solutions Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Job Description

Position:          Practitioner, LOVE

Term:              Full-time, hourly

Pay:                 $19/hour + health insurance, paid time off, and other benefits Location:        Santa Fe, NM

Reports To:     Supervisor, LOVE Direct Reports: None

Updated:         May 5, 2026

Urban Alchemy hires individuals who were once incarcerated and trains them to transform people and places through love and respect. We provide services that heal communities challenged by the intersection of extreme poverty, mental illness, addiction, and homelessness. When individuals are suffering in our public spaces, Urban Alchemy offers solutions. When a neighborhood, street, or intersection earns a reputation as a place to avoid, we turn it around. Urban Alchemy staff, known as Practitioners, create a peaceful and supportive presence, helping our communities rebuild a sense of pride one person at a time. Urban Alchemy is a nonprofit organization founded in 2018. We quickly grew from a small program in San Francisco to a thriving social enterprise with over 1,000 staff. We currently operate in California, Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, New Mexico, and Oregon. Over 95% of Urban Alchemy employees, including leadership, experienced incarceration and/or homelessness. For more information visit our website.

Urban Alchemy operates the LOVE (Leading Outreach with Valued Engagements) team in Santa Fe, engaging individuals living unsheltered in public spaces and connecting them to services and housing pathways through trauma-informed, harm reduction, and person-centered outreach. The LOVE team establishes relationships with community members, residents, business owners, and individuals experiencing homelessness in target areas.

Urban Alchemy also operates Agape House, a congregate interim housing facility for adults experiencing homelessness in Santa Fe, where the LOVE team collaborates with site staff to support guests in transitioning to stable housing.

The Practitioner, LOVE is part of Urban Alchemy’s Community Outreach and Engagement initiative designated as the LOVE (Leading Outreach with Valued Engagements) team. The Practitioner establishes positive relationships with community members in target areas. Community members range from residents of the area, business owners and their patrons, and members of the unhoused community. These relationships are critical to leverage effective communication and de-escalation. The Practitioner must possess highly attenuated emotional intelligence to accurately assess individuals they are responding to, understand and regulate their own emotions and triggers, and quickly develop a strategy to respond to the crisis in a calm and warm manner that deescalates the situation and results in satisfactory resolution of the presenting issue.

• Provide culturally responsive, trauma-informed, gender-responsive, harm reduction, and person-centered mental health and substance use crisis assessment, intervention, and de-escalation
• Engage with individuals in distress to assess the cause of their distress, determine strategies that will be useful in decreasing distress, support individuals to resolve any identified issues, de-escalate potential or existing conflicts and/or heightened emotions, and support individuals to connect to supportive services, as appropriate
• Show competency in use of Narcan for opioid overdose reversal
• Work collaboratively with other team members and the person in crisis to quickly assess the needs of the individual experiencing mental health crisis; and create a response plan
• Practice self-awareness and cultural humility as member of a diverse team; be conscientious and sensitive to power and other interpersonal dynamics with team members and with members of the unhoused community
• Ability to engage and connect with individuals in crisis, a strong ability to remain calm and attentive during crises, as well as to work through several separate crises during a single shift
• Demonstrate a high level of resilience and self-care as part of maintaining wellness in a high crisis and first responder position
• Know and adhere to Urban Alchemy’s critical incident policies, including reporting requirements

• Demonstrate compassion and respect in all interactions with guests, staff, and stakeholders
• Apply emotional intelligence to build effective, meaningful connections
• Follow all safety procedures and ensure compliance with OSHA, state, local, and company policies
• Attend orientation and complete required training mandated by the company or funders
• Work flexible hours and/or shifts, weekends, and on-call shifts
• Follow appearance standards by wearing designated uniforms and ID badge
• Perform additional duties as assigned by supervisor

Position Specific

• Experience with incarceration strongly preferred and Urban Alchemy’s model values Practitioners who

bring lived experience and can authentically connect with our mission and the guests we serve

• 1+ year working in outreach, street-based services, or a related field preferred
• Demonstrates strong emotional intelligence with the ability to read, regulate, and respond to others in high-stress situations
• Able to engage and build rapport with individuals in crisis; remains calm, attentive, and focused across multiple situations in a single shift
• Understands barriers facing individuals experiencing homelessness, mental illness, substance use, or involvement in the justice system
• Maintains ethical and professional standards and boundaries
• Handles sensitive and confidential information with discretion
• Demonstrates high resilience and commitment to self-care in a demanding, first-responder environment
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills; communicates clearly and respectfully with guests, community members, and team members
• Reads, understands, and follows instructions, procedures, and safety guidelines
• High school diploma, GED, or professional training preferred
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) preferred

• Values kindness and respect in all interactions
• Genuinely aligned with the company’s mission, values, and model