Peer Specialist

Description

Compensation Range: $19/hr - $21/hr commensurate with experience.

Benefits

We have three comprehensive healthcare plans to choose from based on your priorities and budget. Housing Works covers most of the plan; you pay a portion, based on your salary. Staff begins accruing PTO immediately for a total of up to 30 days earned in the first year. We offer employees an educational benefit. This money is available for tuition loan reimbursement, tuition costs, and text books.

Overview

Using a one to one, person-centered counseling model, the Community Oriented Recovery & Empowerment (CORE) program seeks to improve the functioning of individuals living with mental illness, histories of chemical and alcohol dependence, or physical disabilities, helping them achieve personal goals in the areas of recovery, employment or independent functioning.

Under the supervision of the Program Director, the Peer Specialist who carries a caseload of clients will function as a role model to peers; exhibiting competency in personal recovery and use of coping skills; serve as an advocate, providing information and peer support for clients. The Peer Specialist will perform a wide range of tasks to assist peers in regaining independence within the community and mastery over their own recovery process. Recovery resources such as booklets, tapes, pamphlets and other written materials will be utilized by the Peer Specialist in the provision of services.

In addition, Community based work and meeting people in their communities is a large part of this position. These services are intended to contribute to the reduction of unnecessary hospitalization/ institutional level of care and improved societal integration of those served. Service delivery is designed to be flexible and individualized and is focused on the promotion of skill development and identification of community supports in order to overcome deficits related to function and motivation.

Responsibilities

Peer Support is provided individually. It includes the following components:

• Person-Centered Recovery Planning, Documentation, and Collaboration:
• A person-centered planning process is used to support the individual’s recovery goal. Engaging the individual in shared decision making around service and recovery planning.
• Reviewing progress toward goals and objectives; updating the ISP as goals are met or other changes are needed.
• Communicating with other providers such as prescribers, treatments providers, case managers, or employment specialists, to ensure integrated, collaborative care.
• Advocacy Support: This component assists in building self-advocacy skills and raising awareness of existing social support and services.
• Building the individual’s skills and self-efficacy related to Shared Decision Making
• Developing of mental health care directive and psychiatric advance directives (PADs)
• Working alongside the individual as they seek and obtain benefits and entitlements, food, shelter, and permanent housing, Raising the awareness of existing services and community resources, pathways to recovery and helping an individual to remove barriers that exist for access to them.
• Connecting individuals to “warmlines” and peer-run groups in the community (in-person or online)
• Advocating on behalf of the individual and supporting their self-advocacy during appointments.
• Activation and Engagement in Recovery: This component focuses on engagement in the recovery process, increasing their sense of hope and purpose, and empowering the individual to achieve their goals to make positive changes.
• Validating the individual’s experiences and feelings and conveying hope to the individual about their own recovery
• Relating your own recovery stories and sharing and describing personal recovery practices, and helping the individual to discover recovery practices that will work for them.
• Modeling of recovery lifestyle, including participation in recovery activities that might be beyond the scope of treatment providers (such as attending 12 step meetings or similar items in community)
• Assisting the individual with identifying activities in selecting and utilizing the things that promote a sense of passion, purpose and meaning into their life and coaching the individual as they identify barriers to engaging in these activities
• Wellness coaching with a focus on whole health, which may include discussing and sharing ongoing personal efforts to enhance health, wellness, and recovery
• Assisting the individual to select and use self-directed recovery tools such as Wellness Recovery Action Planning (WRAP) and recovery plans
• Community Participation: This component uses peer support and skill building to support full community engagement and participation.
• Utilizing shared personal experience to support skill development that guides the individual towards a more independent life in the community (e.g. personal banking, accessing public transportation, finding and attending community events, and membership in community organizations)
• Exploring community spaces that promote integration, inclusion, and participation (bridging from the individual’s home to the community)
• Supporting the individual in attending community activities and appointments when requested
• Assisting the individual to help connect to long-term natural supports that enhance the quality and overall security of life.
  
  

• Additional Tasks:
• Hold Case conferences as needed.
• Document all services and administrative work in Electronic Health Records within 48 hours
• Lead CORE Group Sessions, as needed, in collaboration with the CORE team
• Perform other duties as assigned by supervisor and as stated in the NYS CORE operations Manual