Connectionworks Peer Support Advocate - Adult Services - Brattleboro

The pay for this position is between $22-24 per hour.

Position Purpose: 

This is a direct service position that focuses on providing in-person, individual and group harm reduction service in the form of individual peer support and community outreach. This position is grant funded until the end of August 2026.

Principal Responsibilities and Duties: 

• Providing peer-based direct service support based on Intentional Peer Support (training will be provided)
• Connect program participants to additional resources and/or services, as needed and wanted by the program participant themselves
• Advocating with or on the behalf of program participants regarding their basic life needs, as well as their healthcare, safety and/or equity needs
• Creatively develop harm reduction direct services to create better access to evidence-based and promising practices, resources, harm reduction education and supplies in the residential setting and in the broader community.
• Coordinating harm reduction initiatives within residential settings including and not limited to, peer-to-peer harm reduction education and/or peer-based support groups.
• Assist in mobile outreach efforts in conjunction with partner organizations to provide peer support, recovery coaching, and referrals to services.
• Participate in data collection and documentation as needed

Key Knowledge, Skills and Abilities to successfully perform this job:  

• Personal history with harm reduction, providing harm reduction direct service work and/or experience with harm reduction as a philosophy
• Providing direct service to people who’ve historically experienced oppression, marginalization and discrimination
• The stages of change as it relates to substance use
• Working in an environment that requires good time management and organizational skills
• Virtual meeting spaces including Zoom and Microsoft Teams
• Facilitating difficult and constructive conversations 
• Being part of a creative and multi-cultural team, with diverse backgrounds
• Social grassroots organizing, social justice, recovery community, social work, non-profits, public health or other related fields

Relationships: 

The Connectionworks Peer Support Advocate will report directly to and be supervised by the Peer Support Manager and will attend weekly HCRS peer support meetings. The Connectionworks Peer Support Advocate will work closely with and is accountable to the Connectionworks Project Director for Connectionworks operations.

Qualification Statements

Minimum: 

• Personal lived experience with substance use and/or addiction
• Experience working with individuals in active substance use
• High school diploma or GED

Preferred:

• Personal lived experience with opioid addiction and/or homelessness
• Familiarity with local resources
• Training in Intentional Peer Support (IPS), restorative/transformative justice, de-escalation, group facilitation, harm reduction, or other related areas
• Familiarity and experience with the psychiatric survivor, mad pride, neurodivergent, harm reduction, transformative justice, and/or disability justice movements

Working Conditions and Additional Information: 

This position involves a high level of autonomy and time spent in the Brattleboro community. The position involves frequent contact with people who are actively using drugs and living in very difficult circumstances. Local travel within Brattleboro is frequently required (several stops per day).

Salary : $22 - $24