Peer Counselor - Youth Partner

Discovery Behavioral Healthcare (DBH) is a community-based, non-profit organization committed to providing quality behavioral medical services to the diverse communities of Port Townsend, WA. Our mission is to provide state of the art services to foster recovery and resilience in an accessible, respectful, and caring environment.

General Description: The Youth Partner is an equitable member of the WISe team whose role is to partner with the youth to help support their engagement and active participation in making informed decisions to drive the WISe process. They are qualified through their lived experience and knowledge of community resources and the wraparound or WISe process. The Youth Partner is a mediator, facilitator, and cultural broker between youth and agencies.

Position Requirements:

• Be willing to use their own lived experiences to provide hope and peer support to other youth experiencing similar challenges.
• Demonstrate leadership experience and diplomacy in resolving conflicts.
• Have knowledge of community resources and supports
• Build relationships with community members and organizations to connect the youth with resources.
• Be able to share resources and information in a developmentally appropriate way to ensure that youth understand the WISe process and have access to information regarding their care.
• Be committed to ensuring that youth have voice and choice in their own care and are active participants in the WISe process.
• Provide peer counseling and support, drawing on common experiences as a peer, to parents and caregivers by encouraging them to regain hope in, and control over, their own lives as well as their children’s lives. Promote self-determination, empowerment, personal responsibility for recovery and wellness, and assist parent/caregivers to advocate for themselves and their children.
• Able to engage and collaborate with people from diverse backgrounds.
• Able to maintain a non-judgmental attitude towards youth, families and professionals. Ability to maintain a stance of appreciation and acceptance of parents, including their choices.
• Support child/youth in meetings as needed including Child & Family Team, Individualized Education Plan (IEP) conferences, Jefferson County Court proceedings.
• Provide resource referral and linkage to parents/caregivers as well as system partners in the community.
• Maintain complete and timely documentation of clinical files and gather and maintain data information in accordance with agency policies and procedures.
• Maintain appropriate professional boundaries while working with families.
• Seek appropriate clinical supervision where necessary, particularly around boundary issues, and attend appropriate agency trainings as determined by the Clinical Director.
• In addition to the above, any other responsibilities appropriate to the position and not specifically listed in the job description.

Qualifications:

• Lived experience as consumer of behavioral health services as a child/youth required.
• Certification as a Peer Support Specialist in the state of Washington is required and must be obtained within six months or less from date of employment.
• Must be at least 18 years of age.
• Must possess and maintain valid driver’s license with an acceptable motor vehicle report .
• Ability to effectively communicate verbally, in writing and electronically.
• Ability to document efficiently utilizing the electronic health record and written form.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $18.76 - $25.06 per hour

Benefits:

• 403(b)
• Dental insurance
• Disability insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Mileage reimbursement
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Work Location: In person

Salary : $19 - $25