Peer Support Specialist (JOHS) Navigation Team

PAY SCALE: $25.00 per hour.

FTE: 1.0 FTE (40 hours per week)

HOURS AND LOCATION: M-F 9 am to 5 pm.

This position is out in the field and in all types of weather conditions.

BENEFITS: This is a benefited position as outlined in the MHAAO Employee Handbook

TITLE: PEER SUPPORT SPECIALIST/CERTIFIED RECOVERY MENTOR

REPORTS TO: EVOLVE Peer Delivered Services Program Supervisor

DEPARTMENT:  EVOLVE Peer Delivered Services

 

Persons of color, LGBTQIA+ and members of all other underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply.

 

JOB SUMMARY:

The trained and experienced Peer Support Specialist (PSS)/Certified Recovery Mentor (CRM) offers comprehensive outreach and peer support to people living in unsanctioned encampments. Support is guided by the lens of lived experience as a person who has similar life experiences.

 

As a part of the multi-disciplinary Navigation Team, this PSS engages directly with people experiencing homelessness to facilitate connection and engagement with health and social services and other services and supports the people being served are seeking. PSSs support people in taking the next step in the care continuum by talking directly with people in the field, finding out what they need, identifying programs, resources, and services that will best meet those needs, and removing obstacles to accessing those programs, resources, and services. Goals include helping people experiencing homelessness enter shelter; develop trusting relationships with their medical or behavioral health home; and access food and material resources.

 

QUALIFICATIONS:

 

Expectations:  MHAAO strives to honor cultural and spiritual diversity in the communities we serve as well as honoring Voice and Choice through trauma-informed practices. Being committed to Social Justice means being committed to constantly assessing our organizational values and the extent to which we are modeling or falling short of them. It also means listening to feedback from our stakeholders and others who have interacted with our organization and taking the time to understand and reflect on those interactions. This commitment is extended from the organization, as well as each employee of MHAAO.

 

Education:  High school diploma or equivalent required. 

 

Background Check:  A criminal background check will be conducted by MHAAO in accordance with the MHAAO background check policy. A criminal record does not necessarily exclude an individual from employment with MHAAO.

 

Experience:  It is an essential function of the position to identify as having lived experience of addiction and/or co-occurring mental health issues as well as the other life experiences such as multi-system involvement or homelessness, that go along with such challenges and navigating a life of self-directed recovery. It is also vital to understand the effect of trauma on health, coping, and other aspects of individual needs as well as the principles of recovery, self-direction, and trauma-informed care. Further, the successful candidate will have at least one year experience providing peer delivered services. 

 

Qualities:

• Possess an absolute belief in every person’s ability to learn, grow and recover
• Value person’s right to make their own decisions
• Value people as the “experts” in their own lives
• Possess insight pertaining to personal biases and worldview and how they may interfere with effectively working with individuals representing a variety of cultural, ethnic, language and life experiences.

 

Licensure/Certification:  Oregon Health Authority (OHA) Peer Support Specialist (PSS) certification and MHACBO Certified Recovery Mentor (CRM) certification is required but may be applied for within 1 month of hire. This position requires at least 2 years of addiction recovery.

 

Valid Oregon Driver’s License and proof of automobile insurance required. Have reliable transportation preferred.

 

Skills:

Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively within a team.

Ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures.

Keyboard skills and ability to navigate electronic systems applicable to job functions.

 

 

GENERAL ACCOUNTABILITIES AND ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

 

• Provides 1:1 peer support.
• Participate in the development of health and recovery goals with people. Support people to reduce barriers and achieve goals.
• Participates in regular peer support supervision sessions.
• Attend and participate in Navigation Team learning collaborative and outreach team meetings, with the goal of identifying best practices and continuously improving the quality of outreach initiatives.
• Demonstrate ability to work as part of a team in the delivery of services to participants.
• Computer literacy is a vital component of this role. Demonstrated ability to use word processing, database, spreadsheet, e-mail, and Internet programs.
• Attend staff meetings as applicable to gain knowledge and communicate program goals and the needs of the individuals being served.
• Implements the regulations, policies, and procedures which pertain to peer-delivered service.
• Meets with peers in unsanctioned encampments and/or their temporary place of shelter/residence to establish and maintain a positive and trusting relationship.
• Following the direction of the individuals served, assist people in exploring strategies that increase satisfaction with the eight dimensions of wellness.
• Assists people being served with identifying and engaging various community resources and supports.
• Offers people being served educational opportunities to explore new resources, information and alternatives to utilizing the emergency department for non-emergent needs.
• Administers outcome measurement tools with individuals being served and participates in data collection.
• Reflects MHAAO core values and stays true to the principles of peer support.
• Documents supports services in a program database in a manner that assures compliance with policies, program procedures and local, state, and federal regulations. Maintains accurate and up-to-date documentation as required by program deliverables.
• As appropriate, openly identifies as a person who has lived the experience of addiction and/or co-occurring mental health issues and is able to appropriately share own recovery journey story with individuals being served.
• Acts as a positive role model for people being served and exploring their own path to wellness and recovery.
• Acts as an advocate for people being served when appropriate, both within the organization and also with other entities.
• Respects and honors a person’s rights and responsibilities and demonstrates professional boundaries and ethics. Adheres to mandatory abuse reporting laws and HIPAA requirements.