Peer Specialist

Services For The Underserved, Inc. • New York, NY

85d • $35,000 - $40,000

About The Position

The Peer Specialist will perform the following duties; 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.

Requirements

• Peer Certification is preferred.
• Lived experience of mental health challenges, including experience with psychosis during youth.
• Ability to relate well to young people.
• Understanding of the community and available resources.
• Demonstrated progress in personal recovery.
• Good interpersonal communication skills and ability to empathize with participants.
• Two years of active participation in mental health self-help activities or similar programs.
• Ability to disclose recovery story for empowerment purposes.
• Excellent judgment and understanding of boundaries when working with participants.
• Adhere to on-call cell phone system for crisis intervention.

Responsibilities

• Facilitate engagement with teams by forging strong connections with participants and families.
• Undertake outreach activities to promote community awareness of S:US services.
• Encourage help-seeking and serve as a bridge between team members and participants.
• Develop authentic relationships with individuals and families through empathy and collaboration.
• Understand and discuss frameworks for understanding life experiences such as psychosis.
• Advocate for program participants in the community and on the team.
• Collaborate with participants to develop their wellness toolkit.
• Support participants in strengthening self-awareness and building life skills.
• Influence team culture positively by advocating for clients and promoting recovery-oriented language.
• Maintain open communication with the team and report safety concerns.

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits package designed to support wellbeing and development.
• Health and wellness resources.
• Generous PTO.
• Professional development opportunities.

What This Job Offers

• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees