COVID-19 considerations:In response to COVID-19, we have instituted many safeguards to protect our employees by requiring that all staff and clients be required to wear masks prior to entering our facility, are COVID symptom screened and contact traced, we are taking temperature checks daily, and have installed a clear protective barrier at our front desk.

Please note: You may be required to take a COVID-19 test prior to entering the facility.

Bonita House, Inc. (BHI) is a well-respected nonprofit mental health agency with multiple sites in Alameda County and an operating budget of $10 million. It was founded in 1971. BHI is also a social rehabilitation agency providing a full range of Medi-Cal services to adults with co-occurring serious mental health and substance use disorders.

In-Home Outreach Team (IHOT), is a program of early engagement and linkage for people with severe mental illness who are not connected to community services. Clients are supported through five phase of care, with culturally sensitive approaches from the time of initial contact, to outreach, engagement, and linkage via warm hand-off to ongoing community-based resources. Family members will be included in engagement, planning for services, and linked to a variety of supports designed to help them assist their family members while addressing their own needs and stressors.

Agency Values:

Compassion: Committed to caring, dignity, and kindness

Respect: Honor each individual and provide highly ethical services

Progress: Leading the way in creating opportunities to change for the better

Resilience: Channeling hope, building strengths to successfully recover, adapt and grow

Embracing Differences: Honor and celebrate our diverse communities and individual uniqueness

Bonita House fully supports the Board of Behavioral Sciences' commitment to protect the consumers of California through effective enforcement, ensure credibility and high professional standards through examinations and licensing requirements, and provide excellent customer service to all its constituents.

Position Summary:

This position will provide outreach, engagement, and rapport building to IHOT participants. Through the use of their story of recovery, the Peer Support Specialist will instill hope and support and inspire others to embrace their recovery.

Qualifications:

 Required:

· Lived personal experience with mental illness, homelessness, and/or co-occurring disorders required.

· Understanding and practice of culturally sensitive components of direct service delivery

· Must possess strong engagement skills.

· Strong organizational, detail orientated, and time management skills.

· Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Strong time management skills. Must be able to juggle multiple priorities at once.

· Ability to build supportive and respectful working relationships with participant.

· Ability to effectively intervene in crisis situations using de-escalation techniques.

· Proven ability to work independently, effectively as an individual and part of the team.

· Strong community networking skills and ability to build resources and relationships that improve continuity of care.

· Ability to work flexible hours, including some weekends and evenings.

· California Driver’s License and Own Vehicle

· Must be able to gain clearance to visit jails and correctional facilities.

Preferred:

· Bilingual (Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese) preferred.

· Bachelor’s degree preferred but not required if the candidate has equivalent experience.

KPIs:Documentation Expectations

1. Minimum two outreach attempts to assigned clients within five days of referral
2. Minimum two outreach attempts within five days of referral
3. Minimum one weekly outreach attempt for the next 90 days
4. Minimum 15 client contact hours per week
5. Responsiveness to the client and/or staff emails and voicemails within 24 hours or next business day

Essential Functions/Skills:

· Provide outreach, engagement, and rapport building to prospective IHOT participants.

· Use the story of recovery to instill hope and support and inspire others to embrace their recovery.

· Provide direct services to participants including outreach, engagement, and rapport building, linkage and referral to services to meet participant’s immediate need, and crisis counseling.

· Utilize Critical Time Intervention, Stage-based Treatment, Motivational Interviewing, and assertive-field-based outreach to support participants in seeking mental health services.

· Accompany participants to appointments and other services engagement.

· Provide community support groups and other activities to support in the building of community.

· Provide support, role modeling, and coaching to participants in the program.

· Provide linkage and warm handoffs to long-term mental health providers.

· Collect data and provide information for reports to funders and other community partners regarding services provided and outcomes.

· Bill services to MAA and maintain case notes.

· Participate in case conferences, team meetings, and periodic training opportunities.

· California Driver’s License and Own Vehicle

· Must be able to gain clearance to visit jails and correctional facilities.

· Other duties as assigned.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Physical demands. Must be able to lift up to 50 pounds.

EOE AA M/F/V/Disability:

BHI is committed to providing equal opportunity to all qualified persons regardless of race, color, citizenship status, national origin, ancestry, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, age, religion, creed, physical or mental disability, marital status, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law (“Protected Status”).