Lead Peer Specialist (Mental Health Services)

Vinfen•Boston, MA

About The Position

The ACCS Lead Peer Specialist provides leadership to team members with lived experience and supports adults receiving psychiatric rehabilitation services in functioning and integrating into their communities. The role acts as a liaison between Peer Specialists and other clinical team members to help ensure people served receive relevant services. It also includes orienting, training, coaching, and supervising Peer Specialists to maintain service quality. The Lead Peer Specialist draws on personal recovery experience to help people served build skills for independence. The position provides peer support, education, advocacy, engagement, and recovery-oriented interventions to people served, including during transitions such as hospital discharge, moving into independent housing, or other life-stage challenges. It supports self-determination, community tenure, self-sufficiency, access to healthcare and employment, daily living skills, and development of recovery and support networks. The Lead Peer Specialist also facilitates peer support and WRAP groups, helps people develop self-advocacy and wellness-management skills, and collaborates with team members to promote recovery values and practices. The role requires travel to people served in homes, group living environments, supported independent environments, and community locations. Driving is required, using either a Vinfen van or a personal vehicle. Job sharing may be acceptable for someone seeking part-time employment.

Requirements

One to three years of experience providing peer support to people with psychiatric disabilities and/or co-occurring disorders.
Personal, firsthand experience as a recipient of the mental health system; experience may include psychiatric hospitalization, outpatient services or therapy, psychiatric medications, or community mental health groups. A formal diagnosis is not required, but the experience must relate to mental health, emotional health, and/or trauma resulting in significant life disruption.
Be well along in personal recovery, with the self-knowledge and habits needed to support personal health.
Willingness to use and share personal practical experience of recovery, wellness management, and the effort and commitment involved in living a satisfying community life.
Strong commitment to the rights and abilities of people served to live and work in their communities, have meaningful relationships, and receive needed resources and supports.
Knowledge of Peer Support practices and ethical standards; person-centered, strengths-based, recovery-oriented values and modalities; engagement and participatory planning; advocacy; community resources; and the legal, civil, and human rights of people served.
Ability to create and maintain supportive, trusting relationships; maintain confidentiality; work independently and as part of a team; promote psychiatric advance directives and relapse prevention; balance competing priorities; and make independent judgments and decisions.
Sensitivity to cultural, religious, ethnic, disability, and gender differences.
Knowledge of personal computer applications and equipment.
Must become a Certified Peer Specialist or obtain a Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery Recovery Coach Academy certificate of completion within six months of hire. The posting also states that Certified Peer Specialist certification must be obtained within one year of hire.
Must be able to become CPR- and First Aid-certified within two weeks of employment.
Driving is required using either a Vinfen van or a personal vehicle. Must present a valid driver's license at employment; be at least 21 years old; have held a valid U.S. driver's license for at least one year; and pass a driving screening. Personal vehicle users must maintain adequate insurance and a safe driving record, subject to annual checks.
Must pass CORI, driving record, reference, educational and professional licensure, and multi-state background checks.
Physical ability to stand, walk, bend, kneel, stoop, crouch, crawl, climb, lift at least 25 pounds using proper technique or a two-person lift, assist people served with activities of daily living, operate a computer and office equipment, sit and remain stationary for up to 50% of the time as needed, maneuver through narrow spaces, and communicate with people served, staff, and external representatives. Specific vision abilities include close, distance, color, peripheral, and depth vision and the ability to adjust focus.

Nice To Haves

Experience as a recipient of services for people with psychiatric conditions is preferred.
Access to an operational and insured vehicle and willingness to use it to transport people served is preferred.
Bilingual/bicultural applicants are preferred.
Job sharing may be considered for someone seeking part-time employment.

Responsibilities

Join team LPHA clinicians to initiate and conduct intake for referred people served within 72 hours; welcome, orient, and engage them, build trust, support readiness for goal setting, and assist with the 8 Dimensions of Wellness Assessment and Power Statement.
Share personal recovery experiences and provide support, education, and advocacy, particularly during service and life transitions.
Introduce people served to other Team Peer Specialists and provide warm handoffs for ongoing peer support.
Maintain contact with people served who have difficulty engaging with or remaining engaged in ACCS.
Build supportive, non-directive relationships that promote empowerment and self-learning.
Promote access to healthcare and employment services, safe housing, community tenure, self-sufficiency, and successful service completion.
Support people served in exercising choice, self-determination, participation, and decision-making in treatment, care coordination, and support services.
Facilitate Peer Support groups and connect people with psychiatric conditions and substance use or addiction to recovery tools and resources.
Implement Peer Support-oriented treatment plan interventions and document services in accordance with Certified Peer Specialist training standards.
Help people served develop self-advocacy skills individually and in groups.
Provide information and training on recovery and self-management strategies, including facilitating completion of a Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP).
Help people served strengthen relationships with chosen family and friends and connect with community services, recovery networks, and mutual-help groups, including resources for co-occurring disorders.
Provide ongoing problem-solving, skill training, and side-by-side support to improve daily living skills and abilities; model coping techniques and self-help strategies.
Teach, consult, and collaborate with team members to promote recovery values, language, and culture.
Onboard, orient, and coach new Team Peer Specialists, including through shadowing and review of applicable Codes of Ethics.
Model recovery-oriented, person-centered, motivational interviewing, harm-reduction, Housing First, Stages of Change, trauma-informed, culturally competent, and strengths-based approaches.
Perform, train, supervise, mentor, and model evidence-based recovery-oriented interventions, including Motivational Interviewing, Harm Reduction, Housing First, Stages of Change, and WRAP.
Supervise Peer Specialists; provide training, guidance, and consultation; support ethical practice and effective participation in team interactions; and address performance issues in regular communication with the Team Leader.
Lead the Team Peer Specialists’ efforts to organize and deliver Peer Support.
Visit all GLE and SIE settings regularly to provide Peer Support.
Facilitate WRAP groups.
Receive at least monthly consultative and educative supervision, consultation, and training from Vinfen’s Director of Recovery Services, and additional support upon request.
Participate in the Lead Peer Specialist Community of Practice Workgroup for ongoing competency development and to provide leadership feedback on policy, program development, and work decisions; may co-facilitate the workgroup.
Perform other related duties as assigned.