Certified Peer Specialist

Salary                          $16.40 – $17.05/hr

Employment                40 hours per week, Monday through Friday 8:30am – 5:00 pm

Location:                      1000 Elmwood Ave Rochester, NY 14620

Purpose: The Peer Specialist carries an assigned caseload and ensures the provision of peer services are provided to individuals with a recovery focus. The Peer specialist offers services designed to promote skills for coping with and managing behavioral health symptoms while facilitating the utilization of natural resources.  The Peer specialist will support and provide advocacy, teach life skills and assist individuals in their personal recovery goals.  The Peer Specialist will work in the Mental Health Clinic program.

Key Functions:

• Outreach and engagement: Interim visits to individuals after discharge from ED, Inpatient or Detox Unit.  Raises awareness of existing services. Models a recovery lifestyle and offers assistance to individuals to remove barriers that exist for access.
• Advocacy: provides assistance advocating for linking to self-directed services, assists with benefits and planning, provides linkage in the behavioral health system or other services
• Provides self-help tools such as: assisting an individual in selecting and utilizing self-directed recovery tools such as Relapse Prevention Planning, connecting to natural supports (eg: “warm lines”), or other self-help groups in the community.
• Provides recovery supports consisting of: recovery education and coaching for individuals and their families, conducting person-centered planning that incorporates life areas such as community connectedness, physical wellness, spirituality, employment, self-help.
• Provides Transitional supports:  Bridging from institutions, jail, general hospital, or from the individual’s home to the community
• Pre-crisis and Crisis support: Provide support to an individual in the emergency room, crisis unit or preparing to be admitted to detox, develops crisis plans or relapse prevention plans, provides support to an individual in their home or community before a crisis
• Supports personal recovery goals and builds upon resiliency
• Models life skills (basic skills to handle problems and questions encountered in daily life) such as problem solving, accepting responsibility money management, honoring commitments and self-care skills such as cooking, laundry, and shopping.
• Adhere to Company policies and procedures to include being aware of the importance of Corporate Compliance Policies and the Code of Conduct.  Staff is responsible for maintaining required certifications and licenses.

Values:  Demonstrates the organization’s values

• Customer Service
• Communications
• Continuous Improvement
• Collaboration/Teamwork
• Accountability

Education, Experience, Skills and/or Licensing/Certification Required:

• Certification as a Peer Specialist required.
•  Must have good communication and interpersonal skills.
• Experience working with individuals with a mental illness and co-occurring disorders.
• Demonstrates knowledge of community resources and is comfortable providing services in the community.
• Experience with Person-Centered Planning Practices desirable.
• Computer literacy, including the ability to input information, retrieve client information and locate resources on the web. Documentation of services in EMR will be required.

 Supervisory Responsibility:

• None

What we offer:

• Affordable Medical / Dental / Vision Insurance
• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• 8 Paid Holidays
• Matching 403B Retirement Plan
• Additional Insurance Offerings – Specified Disease Insurance w/ Cancer Rider, Accident Insurance, Identity Theft Protection
• Employer Paid Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA)
• Employer paid Life Insurance, Short-term and Long-term Disability Insurance
• Tuition Reimbursement