Veteran Peer Support Specialist

SOUTH PARK INN

VETERANS PEER SUPPORT SPECIALIST

JOB DESCRIPTION

Position Title: Veterans Peer Support Specialist

Program: Veterans

Location: 75 Main Street, Hartford, CT

Status: Non-exempt, Full-Time

Schedule: Sunday - Thursday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., with flexibility to meet program needs

Pay Scale: $36,000 - $40,000 annually, depending on experience.

Reports to: Program Manager

Scope & Purpose of Position:

The Peer Support Specialist provides peer engagement, social/milieu support, and recovery/risk reduction support to homeless individuals living in the Veterans Transitional Living Program. The Peer Support Specialist functions as a role model, exhibiting competency in personal recovery and use of coping skills. This individual must have the ability to assist others in treatment or harm reduction based on the principles of recovery and/or resiliency. By inspiring the hope that recovery and resiliency are achievable goals, the incumbent can assist others in achieving their goals. The Peer Support Specialist is a key position supporting the work of the Veterans Case Manager in rehousing and re-stabilizing guests’ lives according to their self-identified priorities and needs.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:[1]

· Provide peer-to-peer psychosocial and milieu strengths-based support in a dormitory-style emergency shelter setting.

· Arrange and facilitate prosocial recreational and leisure activities on-site and in the community.

· Collect demographic data at intake for individuals who self-identify as having past or current alcohol and/or drug use and/or mental health challenges.

· Provide initial assessment of use of, and attitude toward, alcohol and other drugs. Assess familiarity with, and connection to, local resources supporting recovery and/or safer use.

· Partner with individuals to make individualized plans to meet their self-identified goals around substance/mental health recovery or harm reduction.

· Ability to work collaboratively with guests to assess their hopes, strengths, accomplishments, and challenges in regard to their goals.

· Supports and teaches recovery and recovery tools.

· Ability to develop recovery wellness plan with guests based off assessment.

· Utilizes knowledge from the Recovery Coach Academy.

· Use Motivational Interviewing to reinforce strengths and assets in moving toward recovery or safer use, to assist with resolving ambivalence toward positive change, and to build confidence that they have the skills and experience to be successful in meeting their goals.

· Provide individualized, ongoing guidance, coaching, and support with a goal of optimizing health outcomes for those who self-report current or past alcohol or drug use.

· Facilitate group and 1:1 education and training in the system of local community resources.

· Provide accompaniment upon request for those accessing or researching mental health/substance use recovery/harm reduction resources or groups.

· Assist guests with increasing social support networks of relatives, friends and/or significant others and other formal and informal community supports.

· Offer encouragement in times of crisis. Role model experience, strength, and hope when indicated, disclosing personal experience of resiliency and recovery where relevant while observing appropriate boundaries.

· Safely support guests in accessing crisis intervention support to prevent overdose, fatality, or other serious health effects when actively using. Administer Narcan as needed and contact/assist First Responders if overdose occurs on-site.

· Debrief nonjudgmentally and compassionately with individuals who have overdosed or relapsed. Provide support and encouragement after setbacks.

· To advocate on behalf of persons with addiction and/or behavioral health problems to protect their rights and to assist in reducing associated stigma.

· To work in cooperation with other providers, family members or significant others involved in the client’s recovery plan.

· Maintain data on critical incidents related to mental health and/or alcohol/substance use.

· Administer post-service assessment to participating Veterans to assess changes in their attitudes and behaviors with respect to mental health and/or substance use.

· Maintain Case Notes in client files documenting contacts related to services, assessments, and events detailed above.

· Timely provide demographic data to Shelter Manager for quarterly reporting.

· Attend agency staff meetings, case conferences and individual and group supervision.

· Continually promote self-determination and self-sufficiency in interactions with clients.

· Coordinate with other South Park Inn agency staff to assist guests in accessing material support for their basic needs, including food, clothing, medicine, and other amenities. Submits purchase requests or secures needed items with supervisory approval as necessary.

· Models and encourages professionalism and positive, strengths-based, client-centered, cooperative environment. Delivers services using principles of harm reduction, recovery, and trauma-informed care.

· Maintains strong working relationships with community partners, volunteers, and the general public.

· Work with supervisor to assure compliance with funding requirements.

· Completes other assignments and tasks as needed and as directed by supervisor.

· Advocates for the mission of the organization and upholds agency values.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

Does this job have supervisory responsibilities: ___ Yes _X_ No

The above duties and responsibilities are not all inclusive and may be modified to include other job related duties at the discretion of the supervisor.

Qualifications:

· Prior lived experience of homelessness and either/both addiction and/or mental illness .

- Veteran Preferred

· Candidates in recovery must be able to demonstrate commitment to diverse models of substance use support, including the Twelve Steps/Twelve Traditions, peer support, clinical models, harm reduction, medication-assisted treatment, moderation, etc.

· Bilingual (Spanish/English) strongly encouraged to apply.

· Familiarity with principles of substance use and mental health recovery and harm reduction, and/or Connecticut certification as Recovery Support Specialist and/or Motivational Interviewing certification strongly preferred. Familiarity with resources available to homeless individuals strongly preferred.

· Familiarity with homelessness and related issues, including addictions, mental health/deinstitutionalization, trauma, domestic violence, and/or poverty.

· Cultural competency and facility working with populations from diverse racial, ethnic, linguistic, religious, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

· Experience with substance use/mental health screening and relapse prevention/harm reduction planning a plus.

· Availability and willingness to work nights and weekends and to assist other programs as needed.

· Collaborative, facilitative approach to working with guests and community partners.

· Ability to work in a fast-paced environment under pressure as part of a team.

· Familiarity with Microsoft Office suite.

South Park Inn Mission Statement:

South Park Inn’s mission is to improve our community by providing equal access to shelter and solutions for all people to make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring.

[1] Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $36,000.00 - $40,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible schedule
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Ability to Relocate:

• Hartford, CT 06106: Relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location: In person

Salary : $36,000 - $40,000