Peer Support Specialist

Description Highlights

• Total Potential: Up to $37.00/hr via differentials
• Lifestyle Balance: Enjoy 4 days off in a row, every week
• Job Type: Full-Time at 36 paid hours per week
• Schedule: Fixed Block (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday)

Job Type

Full-Time at 36 paid hours per week

Job Location

This role requires daily in-person engagement at Indio Crisis Walk-in Center location. 47-915 Oasis St., Indio, CA 92201

Key Highlights

• Compensation: The compensation range for this role is $31.00 - 35.00 an hour, with final compensation determined based on experience, qualifications, and role scope.
• Work Location & Expectations: This role requires daily in-person engagement at Indio Crisis Walk-in Center location. 47-915 Oasis St., Indio, CA 92201

Key Responsibilities

• High-Impact Crisis De-escalation
• The First Voice: Serve as the primary point of contact for adults entering in distress, using lived experience to model calm and hope while lowering the "temperature" of the room.
• Active Engagement: Utilize non-clinical, peer-based de-escalation techniques (such as the "Intentional Peer Support" model) to build immediate rapport and prevent the need for more restrictive interventions.
• Environmental Awareness: Monitor the "Front Door" energy, proactively engaging with participants who appear overwhelmed or anxious before a crisis peaks.
• Collaborative Safety Planning
• Peer-Led Planning: Facilitate the creation of individualized Safety Plans that focus on the participant's strengths, triggers, and preferred coping strategies—not just "contracting for safety."
• Post-Crisis Grounding: Support participants in the vulnerable hours following a clinical assessment, helping them process their experience and internalize their immediate stabilization goals.
• Wellness Tools: Introduce participants to wellness tools (like WRAP or similar frameworks) that they can take home as tangible resources for self-management.
• Expert Community Navigation
• Warm Handoffs: Move beyond providing a list of phone numbers; personally assist participants in navigating the "Front Door" of social services, housing resources, and outpatient programs.
• Bridge to Recovery: Act as the liaison between the CWIC and community-based peer organizations, ensuring participants have a "peer-to-peer" connection waiting for them upon discharge.
• Resource Advocacy: Educate participants on how to advocate for their own needs within the behavioral health system, empowering them to become active participants in their care.
• Team Integration & Advocacy
• The Human Element: Participate in multidisciplinary team huddles to provide the peer perspective on participant care, ensuring the team sees the person behind the crisis.
• Documentation: Maintain accurate, timely, and person-centered documentation that reflects the participant’s progress and the unique value of the peer intervention.

Requirements

• The Core Requirement: Lived Experience
• The Peer Foundation: You must have personal, lived experience with mental health challenges and/or substance use recovery.
• The Goal: You are comfortable and skilled at using your own recovery journey as a professional tool to inspire hope and model stability for others.
• Qualifications & Requirements
• California PSS Certification: Must possess (or obtain within 6 months of hire) a valid Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist Certification issued by the California Mental Health Services Mental Health Services Authority (CalMHSA).
• Education: High School Diploma or GED equivalent or higher is required.
• Essential Skills
• Crisis Competency: Ability to remain grounded and empathetic in a fast-paced, high-intensity clinical environment.
• Communication: Strong verbal and written skills for documenting peer notes and collaborating with a multidisciplinary clinical team.
• Cultural Humility: A deep commitment to serving a diverse population in the Coachella Valley with dignity and respect.
• Preferred Skills
• Certified Parent, Caregiver, and Family Member (CPCF) Specialization highly preferred.
• Youth/Transition-Age Youth (TAY) Peer Specialization highly preferred.
• Bilingual (Spanish): While not required, the ability to provide peer support in fluent Spanish qualifies for a pay differential.
• Specialized Training: Priority will be given to candidates with existing training in Intentional Peer Support (IPS), WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan), or Motivational Interviewing.
• Compliance & Background
• Must be able to pass a standard background check and drug screening (consistent with healthcare facility requirements).
• Transportation: Must have reliable transportation to the Indio site for 7:00 AM shift starts.

Culture

• We believe that to take care of our community, we must first take care of our team.
• Work-Life Balance
• The 4-Day Weekend: Every single week, you have four consecutive days off (Thursday–Sunday).
• This isn't a perk; it’s our standard. It provides the deep rest required to remain effective in crisis work.
• Predictability: No on-call shifts, no last-minute schedule rotations, and no surprise overtime.
• Your life outside of work belongs to you.
• Fewer Commutes: Reduce the gas, the mileage, and the time on the road commuting only 3 times per week.
• Lived Experience as Expertise: You are an expert in navigating the challenges of the behavioral health system. Our clinical team views your lived experience as a vital diagnostic and stabilization tool.
• Supportive Supervision: We provide regular, peer-specific supervision and debriefing. We understand the emotional weight of crisis work and ensure you have the space to process it.
• Professional Growth: We don't just want you to have a job; we want you to have a career. We provide ongoing training in advanced peer practices.

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion

• We are an Equal Opportunity Employer.
• We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.
• We actively encourage applications from people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and individuals with unique recovery backgrounds.
• We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.