Family Peer Advocate

TITLE: Family Peer Advocate

FLSA CODE: Non-Exempt

LOCATION: 953 Southern Blvd. Bronx, NY 10459

Our Mission

Since 1967, Odyssey House has been providing innovative services and programs to a broad population of individuals and families struggling with substance use and mental health disorders. Odyssey House helps New Yorkers of all ages—and across all five boroughs—beat drugs and alcohol with highly individualized treatment programs. Odyssey House provides high quality, holistic treatment impacting all major life spheres, including: psychological, physical, social, family, educational and spiritual in order to support personal rehabilitation, renewal and family restoration.

If that sounds different than other treatment programs, you’re right. Because Odyssey is where recovery gets real.

In Addition To Competitive Salaries, Odyssey House Offers

• A 35-hour work week (as opposed to a 40-hour work week)
• Vacation Plan and Holiday Schedule
• Life Insurance
• Medical Insurance (Two Plans)
• Dental and Vision Insurance
• Additional Insurance Coverages (hospitalization, accidental, critical illness coverage)
• Long-Term & Short-Term Disability
• Flexible Spending Account/Health Reimbursement Account
• 403(b) Plan
• Corporate Counseling Associates (CCA) EAP benefit
• Ability Assist Counseling Services (through The Hartford)
• Commuter Benefits
• Educational Assistance Programs
• Special shopping discounts through ADP Marketplace and PlumBenefits
• RUFit?! Fitness Program
• Legal Assistance through ARAG
• Optum Financial Service through ConnectYourCare
• Benefit Advocacy Center through Gallagher
  
  

Major Functions

The Family Peer Advocate works with pregnant and post-partum persons who misuse drugs or have a substance use disorder in a variety of community-based and institutional service delivery settings as well as in the community-at-large. The major functions of this role are to provide recovery coaching and peer advocacy to the identified population. The Family Peer Advocate offers education about available substance use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery services, harm reduction techniques and supplies as well as collateral and supportive services. The Family Peer Advocate works to reduce stigma through sharing of their own lived experience.

Specific Duties & Responsibilities

• Establishes a respectful, trusting relationship with program participants.
• Assists participants to identify and build on their strengths and resiliencies.
• Assist the individual in identifying basic needs.
• Conducts outreach and educational presentations on access to substance use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery services with the identified population.
• Conducts outreach and educational presentations on a range of collateral services such as healthcare, dentistry, psychiatry, rental and housing assistance, health insurance options, legal assistance, domestic violence victim’s services, vocational training and remedial education with the identified population.
• Provides guidance and resources to help participants access desired services.
• Maintains certification as opioid overdose reversal trainer.
• Provides opioid overdose reversal training to program participants and distributes medication for opioid overdose reversal.
• Delivers harm reduction education and provides harm reductions supplies such as fentanyl test strips, wound care kits and safer sex supplies.
• Escorts persons served to appointments with service providers when desired.
• Facilitates warm hand-offs with network service providers during transitions in care.
• Provides recovery coaching services with the identified population.
• Provides guidance, support and advocacy to facilitate engagement in recovery activities, treatment and collateral services.
• Contributes to the development of the ethical framework for delivery of family support and recovery-related services and conducts all activities within this framework.
• Maintains outreach and recovery services contact logs; documents services rendered.
• Participates in-service training and scheduled supervision sessions.
  
  

REQUIREMENTS: EDUCATION/TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Ability to deliver culturally competent services to a diverse client population in an urban setting.
• Good interpersonal skills, enthusiastic about recovery.
• Must be able to work a flexible schedule.
• Bi-lingual Spanish/English fluency preferred.
• Proficient with MS Office applications; ability to navigate and document in EHR required.
• Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery (CCAR) certification or CRPA-P required, CRPA preferred
  
  

Odyssey House is an equal opportunity employer maintaining a non-discriminatory policy on hiring of its personnel. Odyssey House, and its operational divisions, will not discriminate against any employee or applicant because of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, disability, marital status, sexual orientation or citizen status in all employment decisions including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, upgrading, demotion, downgrading, transfer, training, rate of pay or other forms of compensation, layoff, termination and all other terms and conditions of employment.