Peer Support Worker | MHSU Aftercare

Interior Health; Williams Lake; On-site; CAD 52,000 - 66,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Career growth

Vacation paid per collective agreement

Employer paid insurance premiums

Extended Health & Dental coverage

Municipal Pension Plan

Balanced lifestyle

Job summary

Interior Health in Williams Lake, BC invites you to join our Mental Health Substance Use Aftercare team as a Peer Support Worker 1. This permanent full-time role uses your lived experience to support clients on their wellness journey and to help them navigate health services with empathy and respect.

You will collaborate with an interdisciplinary team to develop and enact care plans, provide emotional support, and promote self-determination, harm reduction, and community integration in a variety

Qualifications

• Lived experience in recovery from mental health or substance use.
• Certificate in a social services program or related field.
• One year recent related experience with the target population.
• Current BC Driver’s License (Class 5).

Responsibilities

• Support clients to identify and reach self-determined wellness goals using lived experience.
• Contribute to development and enactment of care plans; facilitate wellness and recovery actions.
• Provide emotional support, encouragement and validation within a recovery-focused framework.
• Collaborate as part of an interdisciplinary team across diverse environments.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Communication skills

Empathy

Good judgment

Lived experience

Education

Certificate in social services or related field

Job description

Position Summary

We have an exciting permanent full-time opportunity for a Peer Support Worker 1 to join the Mental Health Substance Use (MHSU) Aftercare team in Williams Lake, B.C.

Interior Health and our partner agencies provide a range of mental health and substance use services for all ages. We strive to ensure that our services are welcoming of all peoples, gender identities, cultures, ethnicities and backgrounds.

Who are we looking for?

We are seeking a compassionate, recovery-oriented Peer Support Worker who can draw on their own lived experience of mental illness and/or substance use to build authentic, respectful and purposeful relationships with clients. The ideal candidate brings strong interpersonal and communication skills, sound judgment, empathy, and a commitment to self-determination, choice, harm reduction and community integration.

What we offer:

• Competitive salary and an attractive remuneration package
• Career Growth
• Employer paid vacation (as per collective agreement)
• Employer paid insurance premiums
• Extended Health & Dental coverage
• Contribution to Municipal Pension Plan
• Balanced lifestyle

What will you work on?

The Mental Health and Substance Use (MHSU) Peer Support Worker (PSW) supports people accessing Interior Health MHSU services to identify and reach their self-determined wellness goals, by utilizing their lived experience of mental health challenges, substance use challenges, or concurrent mental health and substance use challenges, and knowledge of health system navigation and process of recovery.

The PSW works as a member of an interdisciplinary team with the client (person), family members and MHSU team members. The PSW contributes to the development and enactment of a care plan, facilitates wellness and recovery action planning, and provides emotional support, encouragement and validation for current experiences, using a lens of lived experience and knowledge of the process of recovery. Services may be provided in a variety of environments depending on the needs of the person.

About this department:

Aftercare services are part of a continuum of addictions care services called Road to Recovery.

Aftercare provides support to those in recovery during their most vulnerable times: the period in-between treatment services or when going back into the community. It’s about preventing relapses and giving people support in sensitive situations. Services include peer recovery groups, outpatient counseling, life skills classes, and regional health authority resources designed to prevent relapse and support community reintegration.

Scheduling Information:

Shift types are days and shift types are from 08:00 to 16:30 hours

How will you create an impact?

Joining our IH team will allow you to challenge yourself professionally while enjoying all the personal pursuits available to you within this fantastic community.

Reasons to Apply at Interior Health... What we can do for you

We offer a work environment conducive to growth and development of strong skills and a work environment that supports and promotes psychological health & safety for all. We offer the opportunity to have a balanced lifestyle that allows you to maintain the quality of life you desire.

Qualfications

Education, Training and Experience:

• Lived experience in recovery, from one of the below as required/assigned by the position, including demonstrated engagement in a self-defined recovery process:
  • mental health challenges (i.e., living with a mental illness or has experienced problems with mental health), or
  • substance use challenges (i.e., living with a substance use disorder or has experienced problems with substance use), or
  • concurrent mental health and substance use challenges
• Certificate in a social services program or other field relevant to the position.
• One (1) year recent related experience working with the assigned client population(s) experiencing mental health and/or substance use challenges, or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience.
• Current valid BC Driver’s License as required.(Class 5).