Peer Support Specialist

Position Description: The Peer Support Specialist will provide peer support to clients with mental health challenges and co-occurring substance use and addiction disorders. This position promotes socialization, recovery, self-sufficiency, self-advocacy, development of natural supports, and maintenance of skills learned in other support services. The Peer Support Specialist serves as an advocate for and on behalf of clients' rights and benefits, and also provide client centered, strength based and trauma informed services. This role is primarily responsible for assisting with the drop in peer support center during drop in hours, along with working with the clients in Strive Recovery on Saturdays and Sundays providing skills groups and assisting with accessing community resources as needed, including attending AA/NA meetings.

Primary Hours: Monday, Wednesday 4:00pm-8:00pm

Thursday 1:00pm-8:00pm

Saturday: 9:00am-2:30pm (Strive)

Sunday 1:00pm-4:00pm (Strive)- may need to work drop in 10:30 am – 1pm on occasion)

Responsibilities:

• Assist clients with symptom management and recovery by modeling wellness, personal responsibility, self-advocacy, and hopefulness through the sharing of his or her story, in the process role modeling how the needs of individuals can be met.
• Help other providers to better understand and empathize with each client's unique experience and perceptions.
• Provide guidance and encouragement to clients to actively participate in their own recovery.
• Teach clients self-advocacy skills.
• Promote personal growth and development with mental health issues and other recovery skills.
• Assist, teach, and support clients regarding activities of daily living, vocational skills, housing access, maintaining financial supports, and building support networks.
• Provide side-by-side support, coaching and encouragement to help clients socialize and carry out leisure-time activities on evenings, weekends, and holidays. Organize and lead individual and group social and recreational activities and provide other opportunities to practice social skills.
• Link clients to other external sources of help, when needed.
• Assist clients in identifying with other consumers who have done well in recovery.
• When appropriate, share with clients his/her own experiences with mental illness and recovery.
• Attend and participate in team meetings and supervision meetings as needed for Strive
• Recognize and act on opportunities to move clients to appropriate levels of care and provide referrals to additional services indicated.
• Educate and assist clients with applying for entitlements such as Supplemental Security Income, Social Security Disability Insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, Housing et
• Advocate on client’s behalf and empower clients to advocate on behalf of themselves when appropriate.
• Communicate effectively within the team model for a multi-disciplinary approach to client care.

Qualifications:

• Must be in recovery from substance use and/or co-occurring illness
• Completion of DHS approved peer support specialist training and/or peer coaching program and/or family support specialist training.
• If uncertified, Must obtain state certification within 6 months of employment.

Other Requirements:

• Valid Iowa Driver License
• Daily access to a well-maintained vehicle with 100,000/300,000 liability insurance
• Experience working with people with mental health/and or substance use disorders preferred.
• Experience working in community-based services.

The peer support specialist must be a past or present consumer of mental health/ substance use services and willing to share their personal story with our clients.