You know recovery is possible. 

Now help others find their path. Become an Intensive Outreach Navigation Peer Recovery Support Specialist!

Do you have:

Lived experience with serious mental illness and recovery?

A passion for helping others?

The desire to build a career that makes a difference?

The Intensive Outreach Navigation Peer Recovery Support Specialist is responsible for coordinating safe and affordable housing for as well as providing peer recovery support services to the clients to ensure they are living safely and working toward sustainability. Provide ongoing Peer Recovery Support Services to the clients to ensure housing needs are being met and housing sustainability is achieved. In addition, the Peer Recovery Support Specialist will work to develop relationships throughout the community to assist participants in the navigation of services necessary to recovery, independence, and sustainability. The Intensive Outreach Navigation team will outreach and serve individuals with Serious Mental Illness (SMI) who have been deemed as a frequent utilizer of the Oklahoma City area shelters, hospitals, and more specifically, the local area community mental health crisis centers such as the Oklahoma County Crisis Intervention Center, Griffin Memorial Mental Health Center, and the Oklahoma Crisis Recovery Unit. These individuals served via this program may also have had some involvement with the criminal justice system and/or experienced homelessness and need extensive support to live successfully in the community. The Intensive Outreach Navigation team will consist of a combination of Case Managers and Peer Recovery Support Specialists.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Develop and maintain relationships with collaborative partners at crisis and mental health centers, as well as landlords in the community to link to appropriate services and attain access to safe and affordable units that meet the needs of the individual being served.
• Work closely with internal and external leasing partners to coordinate access to appropriate housing options for participants based on needs and choice.
• Provide ongoing Peer Recovery Support Services to the participants to ensure housing needs are being met and housing sustainability is achieved.
• Work with Case Managers as necessary to address housing issues (e.g., lease violations, eviction concerns, etc.).
• Be a living example that recovery is possible by role modeling recovery and wellness in his or her own life.
• Empower participants through promoting autonomy, self-direction, and self-advocacy.
• Support participants in identifying meaningful roles and integrating into communities of their choice.
• Assist participants in building social skills and on the development of natural support systems.
• Attend treatment team and program development meetings to ensure the presence of the participant voice and to promote the use of self-directed recovery tools.
• Share knowledge about and resources for various behavioral health settings and ancillary services (i.e. Social Security, housing services, supportive employment, and advocacy organizations).
• Assist the Case Managers with obtaining services that suit the client’s recovery needs. 
• Assist participants in building social skills and on the development of natural support systems.
• Complete necessary documentation and data collection per program requirements
• Transport or assist in navigating public transportation for identified participants.
• Attending agency and inter agency training as identified and needed.
• Share knowledge about and resources for various behavioral health settings and ancillary services (i.e., Social Security, housing services, supportive employment, and advocacy organizations).
• Assist participants in obtaining services that suit his or her recovery needs.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES:

• High School Diploma or GED required.
• Demonstrated participation in advocacy and/or personal knowledge in recovery.
• Be willing to self-disclose about personal recovery and wellness.
• Be stabilized in recovery and practice ongoing self-care.
• Be able to serve as an example for others of what wellness and recovery looks like.
• Agree to respect and observe the PRSS Code of Ethics
• Complete the PRSS training and pass the examination with a score of 70% or better.

WORK CONDITIONS & PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

• Work is performed in both a climate-controlled office setting, as well as outreaching to encampments and other urban environments where the employee would be exposed to variable weather conditions performing their job outside.
• Noise level is moderate and includes sounds of normal office equipment (printers, fax machine, phones, etc.) as well as encountering outside noises like cars, freeway sounds, etc.
• Required to work in area inhabited by unsheltered persons, to include working in dirty environments and dealing with challenging individuals. 
• Potential exposure to stressful and/or physically challenging situations that could result in risk to one’s safety.
• Work requires a flexible work schedule due to internal and external meetings. Occasional travel may be required, with valid Driver’s license. 
• Ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing.
• Physical ability to lift and carry 25 pounds.
• Visual and auditory ability to identify and response to environmental and other hazards of the site and staff behavior.
• Physical mobility and endurance to perform tasks while standing/walking for long periods of time (60 minutes or more).
• Ability to safely and properly use office equipment.