Full Time, Exempt Hours

Qualifications:

• High school diploma/G.E.D.
• Two (2) letters of recommendation
• Must have worked within the last three (3) years with at least 12 months total of successful part-time or full-time paid or voluntary work experience
• Acquired or met the qualifications for certification as a Certified Peer Specialist
• Peer Support & Advocacy Network will pay for certification training

The Peer Specialist must understand and respect everyone’s unique path to recovery and must have lived experience of the mental health and/or drug and alcohol treatment system and a demonstrated commitment to the recovery community. The Peer Specialist’s role is to support others in recovery from mental health challenges. The Peer Specialist will serve as a role model, mentor, advocate, and motivator to recovering individuals to help promote long-term recovery. The Peer Specialist must demonstrate an ability to share personal recovery experiences and to develop authentic peer-to-peer relationships.

Duties and Functions:

• Maintain logs, reports, and records in appropriate files and database(s).
• Provide recovery education to program participants.
• Provide a model for both people in recovery and staff by demonstrating that recovery is possible.
• Assist recovering persons to identify their personal interests, goals, strengths, and weaknesses regarding recovery.
• Assist/coach recovering persons develop their own plan for advancing their recovery; for “getting the life they want.”
• Recovery Planning -- facilitate (via personal coaching) the transition from a professionally directed service plan to a self-directed Recovery Plan. The goal should be to transition from professionally assisted recovery initiation to personally directed, community supported recovery maintenance.
• Promote self-advocacy by assisting recovering persons to have their voices fully heard; their needs, goals, and objectives established as the focal point of recovery.
• Actively identify and support linkages to community resources (communities of recovery, educational, vocational, social, cultural, spiritual resources, mutual self- help groups, professional services, etc.) that support the recovering person’s goals and interests. This will involve a collaborative effort between the peers.
• Support connections to community based, mutual self-help groups. Link individuals to appropriate professional resources when needed. Provide vision-driven hope and encouragement for opportunities at varying levels of involvement in community-based activities (e.g., work, school, relationships, physical activity, self-directed hobbies, etc.).
• Identify barriers (internal and external) to full participation in community resources and develop strategies to overcome those barriers.