Family Peer Advocate
Upper Manhattan Mental Health /Emma Bowen Community CenterEmma Bowen Community Center is seeking a Family Peer Advocate for our Early Childhood Clinic.
Family Peer Advocates have ‘lived-experience’ as the parent (biological, foster, adoptive) or primary caregiver of a child/youth with a social, emotional, behavioral, mental health or developmental disability. They receive training to develop skills and strategies to empower other families. They foster effective parent-professional partnerships and promote the practice of family-driven and youth-guided approaches. Lived experience is extremely valuable when working with families in need of resources, support and advocacy.
Description of Duties and responsibilities:
- providing information and referral
- engaging families in services
- working with families to discern their strengths, needs, and priorities
- providing 1:1 assistance to help families connect to and participate in services
- accompanying parents to meetings to assure their voice is heard
- increasing parents’ feelings of self-efficacy
- reducing stigma and feelings of isolation
- serving as members of child and family planning teams
- helping families identify goals and track progress
- supporting families to develop ‘informal’ networks of support
- participating as the FPA in specific evidence-based treatment models
- empowering parents by increasing their knowledge and skills
- coaching in constructive self-advocacy skills
- coaching in effective parenting strategies
- initiating and supporting parent support and skills groups
- helping families learn about special education services, procedures, and rights
- serving as cultural brokers within organizations and systems
- helping families understand mental health diagnoses, medication, and treatment options
- facilitating effective family-provider partnerships
Skills:
- Great interpersonal skills
- Conflict resolution
- Bilingual (Spanish/English)
Qualifications:
- Have a high school diploma or GED (or document comparable skills).
- Complete the Family Peer Advocate Credential or Provisional Credential
Amount of Travel: 50% of the time
Schedule: Monday-Friday 10am-6pm. Hybrid