Peer Specialist

Services for the Underserved•Brooklyn, NY

18h•Onsite

About The Position

S:US is seeking a Peer Specialist for their men's shelter in Brooklyn. This position is located at Ralph Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11233. The Peer Specialist will be responsible for outreach, engagement, bridge building, relationship building, embracing creative narratives, advocacy, co-creating support and wellness tools, influencing team culture, and team communication. This role involves forging strong connections with participants and families, undertaking outreach activities, encouraging help-seeking, and serving as a bridge between team members and participants. The Peer Specialist will develop authentic relationships through empathy and sharing experiences, understand and discuss life experiences with participants and the team, and use language to foster recovery and resilience. They will advocate with and for program participants, collaborate with participants to develop wellness toolkits, and support participants in strengthening self-awareness, building life skills, and connecting to resources. The Peer Specialist will also positively influence team culture by advocating for clients, promoting a youth-friendly approach, and encouraging recovery-oriented language. Maintaining open and frequent communication with the team, reporting concerns, and keeping notes on visits are also key responsibilities. Co-collaboration on reporting with the program participant is encouraged.

Requirements

Minimum of high school diploma or equivalent (GED)
One year work experience in a shelter or related setting, preferably using the recovery model
Must have lived experience with the mental health system and willingness to share personal experience appropriately and respectfully
Ability to utilize critical thinking, problem-solving and de-escalation skills to assist with creating and maintaining an environment that promotes recovery

Nice To Haves

Peer Certification preferred
A respect for, and high level of comfort around people experiencing psychiatric crisis preferred
Exceptional written and oral communication skills including empathic listening, responding preferred
Bilingual English/Spanish a plus

Responsibilities

Outreach/Engagement/Bridge Building: Helping to facilitate engagement with teams by forging strong connections with participants and families, undertaking outreach activities designed to promote community awareness of S:US services, encouraging help-seeking, and at times serving as a bridge between team members and participants when they experience ambivalence about treatment.
Relationship Building: Developing authentic, meaningful relationships with individuals and families through empathy, sharing experiences, listening and collaborating with genuine curiosity and interest.
Embracing Creative Narratives: Peer Specialists need to be able to understand, share and discuss multiple frameworks for understanding life experiences such as psychosis with participants and the rest of the S:US team. Peer Specialists intentionally use language in the service of listening to understand and making space for complex personal stories of recovery and resilience.
Advocacy: Peer Specialists advocate with and for program participants both in the larger community and on the team.
Co-Creating Support and Wellness Tools: Collaborate with participants to clarify their personal visions and develop their wellness toolkit. Along with other team members, Peer Specialists support participants in strengthening their self-awareness, building life skills, and connecting to resources and community outside of the S:US team.
Influencing Team Culture: Whenever possible, positively influencing the team culture by advocating for clients, promoting a youth friendly approach and encouraging the use of recovery-oriented language. S:US Peer Specialists also work actively within the team itself to help build an environment that operates from a belief in the human potential to grow and an understanding of human diversity.
Team Communication: Peer Specialists maintain open and frequent communication with the team. This includes reporting safety and other concerns to the team. Peer Specialists will also keep notes on visits with program participants as required by the provider agency. In the spirit of peer support, co-collaborating on reporting with the program participant is encouraged.