Peer Support Worker / Specialist

Basic Function

The Peer Support Specialist will provide emotional support and empathy, advocate for least restrictive environment, help individuals deescalate themselves, promote engagement with community supports, serve as a role model, hope-filled engagement and support to individuals in crisis, assist individuals in advocating for their choices, needs, and rights, serve as a bridge between individuals and clinical staff, and provide resources and guidance to help individuals navigate behavioral health and community support systems. This position requires work on-site and off-site in the community. This position is open to daytime (8am – 4pm), evening (4pm – 12am), nights (12am – 8am), and weekends. This is not a hybrid position.

Principal Duties/Responsibilities

• Ability to self-transport within the community within 60 minutes of receiving a crisis call.
• Work collaboratively with the members of the crisis team.
• Absorb clients with symptom management and recovery by modeling wellness, personal responsibility, self-advocacy, and hopefulness through the sharing of his or her story, in the process role modeling how the needs of individuals can be met.
• Provide guidance and encouragement to clients to actively participate in their own recovery.
• Teach clients self-advocacy skills.
• Promote personal growth and development with mental health issues.
• Aid, teach, and support clients regarding activities of daily living, vocational skills, housing access, maintaining financial support, and building support networks.
• Provide side-by-side support, coaching and encouragement to help clients socialize and carry out leisure-time activities in the evenings, weekends, and holidays.
• Organize and lead individual and group social and recreational activities and provide other opportunities to practice social skills.
• Link clients to other external sources of help when needed.
• Aid clients in identifying with other consumers who have done well in recovery.
• When appropriate, share with clients his/her own experiences with mental illness and recovery.
• Attend and participate in team meetings and supervision meetings.

Documentation and Reporting

• Maintain accurate and timely documentation of all client interactions and support activities.
• Demonstrated experience with Microsoft Excel in a professional environment is needed.

Specifications

• High School Diploma or GED.
• Has individual lived experience, or experience as a caregiver of a child, with behavioral health needs.
• Minimum of 2–4 years of experience working in nonprofit organizations, community mental health, human services, social services, or a related field.
• Must obtain CRSS certification within 1 year of hire.
• Must be at least 21 years of age and hold a valid Driver’s License.

Special Knowledge And Qualifications

• Strong understanding of community resources and social services.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrates the ability to work within agency structure, accept supervision, and participate as a member of a multi-disciplinary team, when applicable.
• Ability to handle high-stress situations with professionalism and composure.
• Strong organizational and multitasking abilities.
• Firm understanding and ability to document all client interactions.
• Comfortable working in an emotionally charged environment.

Mental/Physical Demands

• Ability to conceptualize and solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.
• Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel and talk or hear.
• The employee frequently is required to sit.
• The employee is occasionally required to stand and walk.
• The employee must lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.
• Environmental Conditions: The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. Duties are performed in a typical office environment. No unusual or adverse working conditions exist.