Certified Peer Specialist - Homeless Outreach

Radias Health • Saint Paul, MN

2d • $59,773 - $62,987 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Certified Peer Specialist has experience as a recipient of mental health services for severe and persistent mental illness and is willing to use and share his or her personal, practical experience, knowledge, and first-hand insight to benefit the team and its outreach services to clients served by the ACCESS/PATH team. The Peer Specialist will function as a fully integrated team member to provide expertise about the recovery process, symptom management, and the persistence required by clients to have a satisfying life. Collaborates to promote a team culture that recognizes, understands, and respects each client's point of view, experiences, and preferences. Responsible to maximize client choice, self-determination, and decision-making in the planning, delivery, and evaluation of treatment, rehabilitation and support services. Emphasis is placed on working with clients in community settings and directly providing the services necessary to assist clients in achieving their goals.

Requirements

• Must be at least 21 years of age.
• Must have a primary diagnosis of mental illness, be a current or former consumer of mental health services, must demonstrate leadership and advocacy skills and a strong dedication to recovery.
• Credentialed as a DHS Certified Peer Specialist.
• 2000 hours of experience delivering mental health services to people with SPMI

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor's degree or master's degree in behavioral sciences or related fields
• Experience providing outreach services to persons experiencing homelessness and knowledge of services/resources in Ramsey County.

Responsibilities

• Provide peer counseling and support while engaging in Outreach services, drawing on common experiences as a peer, to validate client's' experiences and to provide guidance and encouragement to clients to take responsibility and actively participate in their own recovery.
• Serve as a mentor to clients to promote hope and empowerment.
• Act as an interpreter to help non-mental health consumer team members better understand and empathize with each client's unique and subjective experience and perceptions.
• Collaborates with the team to promote a team culture in which each client's point of view, experiences, and preferences are recognized, understood, and respected, and in which client self-determination and decision-making in treatment planning are maximized and supported.
• Help clients identify, understand, and combat stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness and develop strategies to reduce self-stigma.
• Help other team members identify and understand culture-wide stigma and discrimination against people with mental illness and develop strategies to eliminate stigma within the team.
• Collaborate with the team to ensure the protection of clients' rights to help clients to improve their knowledge of client rights and grievance or complaint procedures.
• Collaborate with the team to help clients learn about pertinent grievance procedures and support clients with filing, mediating, and resolving complaints.
• Increase awareness of and support client participation in consumer self-help programs and consumer advocacy organizations that promote recovery.
• Serve as the liaison between the team and consumer-run programs such as self-help groups and drop-in centers.
• Provide expertise and consultation from a mental health consumer perspective to the entire team concerning clients' experiences on symptoms of mental illness, the effects and side-effects of medications, clients' responses to opinions of treatment, and clients' experiences of recovery.
• Have a strong dedication to recovery.
• Collaborate with the ACCESS staff to promote a team culture in which client self-determination, client decision-making in treatment planning, and protection of client rights are supported.
• Continually monitors client progress and with the ACCESS team modifies the service plan as needed. Peer communicates changes in service needs and recommendations to Clinical Supervisor/Mental Health Professional and other ACCESS team members on an ongoing basis to coordinate client care.
• Promote personal growth and development with mental health and substance abuse issues.
• Assist, teach, and support clients with activities of daily living, vocational skills, accessing housing, maintaining financial supports, and utilizing buses and other transportation in the community.
• Provide side-by-side support, coaching and encouragement to help clients socialize and carry out leisure time activities on evenings, weekends, and holidays.
• Engage in initial assessment to determine presence of mental illness chemical dependency or behavioral problems.
• Provide training, information and referral to clients and interested parties regarding special needs and issues if homeless adults, mental illness, crisis intervention and procedures for accessing relevant community resources.
• Provide follow-up and assistance once client has vacated shelter to ensure community stabilization.
• Monitor clients who may decline active services who represent a potential danger to self or others to ensure referral for emergency psychiatric or other crisis intervention services as needed.
• Work with individuals served on their journey and in a non-judgmental way.
• Build trust with someone based on mutual trust so that the client is receptive to the guidance of professionals.
• Maintain boundaries and disclosing appropriately in order to build hope.
• Attend and participate in all scheduled team meetings.
• Complete all paperwork, reports, and charting contemporaneously and in an organized manner.
• Participate actively in on-going professional growth and development; maintain appropriate professional behavior and participate in appropriate supervision.
• Must be able to transport clients in the community.

Benefits

• 4 weeks accrued PTO first year of employment
• 12 paid holidays
• Medical, dental, vision, life insurance
• Health Saving Accounts (HSA) + employer contribution
• Flexible Saving Accounts (FSA)
• Tuition reimbursement
• Student Loan Repayment Assistance
• Dependent Care Account (DCA) + employer contribution
• Reimbursement for professional licensure fees
• Routine supervision from a Mental Health Professional, with access to licensure supervision opportunities
• 403b retirement plan with an employer percentage match
• Employer paid short-term and long-term disability insurance
• Bereavement and paid parental leave
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Wellness program to support employee overall health and well-being
• Variety of discounts through ADP LifeSmart
• Pet insurance
• Mileage reimbursement
• Casual dress code

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Associate degree