PEER SUPPORT SPECIALIST

Citizen Advocates, Inc.•City of Watertown, NY

6d•$18 - $26

About The Position

Peer Support Specialists provide peer-delivered, trauma-informed, non-clinical services focused on rehabilitation and recovery from behavioral health disorders. Services help individuals and families build skills for coping with and managing symptoms, use natural and community supports, and strengthen hope, self-efficacy, and community living skills. Activities are tailored to goals in an individualized service plan and support initiating or maintaining recovery and improving personal and family quality of life. Services may include advocacy and system navigation; outreach and engagement; support with self-directed recovery tools and community connections; peer recovery support and counseling; transitions between institutions, homes, and community services; and pre-crisis or crisis support. This is a relief position covering the North Country Region, with frequent travel. The schedule is determined by the supervisor to meet location and departmental needs, and hours may vary according to company needs and workload.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent.
Lived or relevant experience.
Clean driving record for three years.
Must maintain certification requirements.
Communication skills.
Organization skills.
Crisis management and composure.
Time management skills.
Ability to maintain confidentiality.
Ethical conduct.

Responsibilities

Assist individuals with accessing benefits, entitlements, food, shelter, permanent housing, and appropriate behavioral health or allied services.
Support shared decision-making, benefits planning, psychiatric advance directives, and self-directed services.
Provide companionship, model a recovery lifestyle, and encourage participation in recovery and wellness activities.
Raise awareness of available services and pathways to recovery, and help address barriers to access.
Provide interim visits after discharge from emergency rooms, detox units, or inpatient psychiatric units to support community transition and readiness for follow-up care.
Assist individuals in selecting and using self-directed recovery tools, including relapse-prevention plans.
Help individuals identify meaningful activities, address barriers to participation, connect with natural supports, warm lines, and community self-help groups.
Provide peer recovery education, counseling, one-to-one peer support, and person-centered goal planning.
Support skills development, independent living, progress self-monitoring, and practice of effective coping skills.
Bridge transitions from jail or prison, institutions, general hospitals, or home to community settings, and help arrange appropriate follow-up services and warm hand-offs.
Provide non-clinical companionship and support before or during a crisis or potential relapse, including in an emergency room, crisis unit, home, or community setting.
Develop crisis-diversion and relapse-prevention plans.
Document transition arrangements in the individual’s or family’s case record.