About this role
Position Summary:
Peer Support Services are a process of giving and receiving support and education from individuals with shared life experiences. Peer Services are provided by individuals in recovery from substance use, mental health and co-occurring disorders who use their lived experience as a tool to assist others by sharing their personal journeys and knowledge gained. Individuals engaged in peer services play a vital role in laying the foundation for sustained recovery. Peer Support Services provide strength-based supports for persons in or seeking recovery from behavioral health-related issues. The service offers a type of partnership where the person in or seeking recovery self directs his/her care while the Support Specialist provides expertise in supporting successful change. The Support Specialist focuses on achieving any goals important to the individual and asks questions and offers suggestions to help the person begin to take the lead in addressing their own needs. The practice focuses on honoring values and making principle-based decisions, creating a clear plan of action, and using current strengths to reach future goals. The Specialist serves as an accountability partner to help the person sustain his or her recovery and helps to access the systems needed to support the individual, such as disability benefits, health care, housing, etc.
Essential Job Functions:
- Encourages, Inspires and empowers to reach treatment goals
- Coordinates & facilitates psychoeducational peer groups related to removing environmental obstacles and improving healthy life skills and social connectedness including teaching relaxation and mindfulness strategies
- Works as part of a collaborative health team and participates in Care Team Meetings
- Assists individuals in developing strategies to communicate with and advocate for themselves to adopt a proactive role in their own behavioral and physical health
- Instructs about services provided to help them (e.g., availability of peer services, benefits, advanced directives, opportunities, clients rights process)
- Mentors in the recovery process (e.g., reassures to the reality of recovery, assists with increasing personal empowerment, helps set & achieve goals)
- Provides information & assists with applying for supplemental programs such as housing
- Assists people with completing forms; develops services & supports to identify service & support gaps for individuals with mental health or co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders; participates on treatment teams with person’s consent;
- Collaborates to assist with intake/discharge planning (e.g., conducts intake & discharge surveys, facilitates exit interviews)
- Monitors satisfaction
- Completes and submits documentation as determined by the Director of Peer Services
- Provides support and encouragement to family members
- Meet individuals where they are in the community and transport individuals to appointments as needed
- Embraces and embody the mission, vision, guiding principles, clinical vision and goals of WestCare Foundation; and
- Performs all other duties as assigned
Qualifications
Essential Qualifications:
Certifications/Licenses:
- Possession of a valid Driver’s License and ability to qualify for WC vehicle insurance
- Ability to obtain peer support certification (1 year sobriety)
- Have a current or the ability to obtain Level I fingerprint clearance card through a federal background check.
Education:
- High School Diploma or equivalent.
Experience and Competencies:
- Experience and Competencies:
- Must have behavioral health lived experience
- Must be 18 Years of age or older
- Strong reading comprehension, written and oral communication skills
- Computer literate, ability to type and manage Microsoft office
- Demonstrated experience with leadership advocacy or governance
- Bilingual would be an asset
- A minimum of one year without receiving in-patient and/or intensive treatment services
- A minimum of one year without involvement with law enforcement
- A minimum of 6 months in stable and safe housing
- A minimum of 6 months of stable employment or active enrollment in educational setting
- Continues to participate in support groups and/or behavioral health networks
- Must provide 3 letters of reference
- Adherence to the highest standard of ethical conduct, especially to standards governing confidentiality; and
- Professional appearance and demeanor.