Peer Specialist

Services for the Underserved•Brooklyn, NY

9d•$45,000 - $50,000

About The Position

Position Overview Essential Job Functions: Outreach/Engagement/Bridge Building: Helping to facilitate engagement by forging strong connections with participants and families residing in Brooklyn and surrounding communities. Undertaking outreach activities designed to promote community awareness of S:US services, encouraging help-seeking, and at times serving as a bridge between treatment team members and participants when they experience ambivalence about substance use treatment (including Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) and outpatient Substance Use Disorder (SUD) treatment). Combating Overdose: Peer Specialists will be certified to train and distribute Naloxone kits to individuals and their family members. 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 substance use and 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.

Requirements

Certified Recovery Peer Advocate (or Provisional) Certification required (CRPA)
The Peer Specialist should have an understanding of the community in which the team is based with an awareness of available community resources
The Peer Specialist should also be someone who has made positive and productive progress toward his or her own recovery
Demonstrate good interpersonal communications skills and the ability to empathize with, relate to and effectively work with participants of mental health services
Two years of active participation in substance use/mental health self-help activities, peer support or peer advocacy programs, or participant run organizations or similar experiences or programs required
Must possess the ability/ willingness to disclose their recovery story (where appropriate) for the purposes of empowerment
Excellent judgment/ability to understand boundaries when working with participants of substance use/mental health services is required
Adhere to on call cell phone system to facilitate crisis intervention, emergencies and other situations that require immediate action.
Significant travel to engage clients at shelters, in their community and other settings is required; 75%.

Responsibilities

Outreach/Engagement/Bridge Building: Helping to facilitate engagement by forging strong connections with participants and families residing in Brooklyn and surrounding communities.
Undertaking outreach activities designed to promote community awareness of S:US services, encouraging help-seeking, and at times serving as a bridge between treatment team members and participants when they experience ambivalence about substance use treatment (including Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) and outpatient Substance Use Disorder (SUD) treatment).
Peer Specialists will be certified to train and distribute Naloxone kits to individuals and their family members.
Developing authentic, meaningful relationships with individuals and families through empathy, sharing experiences, listening and collaborating with genuine curiosity and interest.
Peer Specialists need to be able to understand, share and discuss multiple frameworks for understanding life experiences such as substance use and 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.
Peer Specialists advocate with and for program participants both in the larger community and on the team.
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.
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.
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.