FACT Peer Specialist

Mhrcflorida; Gainesville (FL); On-site; USD 35,000 - 52,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid Time-Off

Paid Holidays

Life & Disability Insurance

403(b)

Flexible Spending Account

Employee Assistance Program

Job summary

A local mental health organization in Gainesville is seeking a FACT Peer Specialist to provide peer counseling and support services to adults with severe mental illness. Candidates should have personal experience with mental health services and strong communication skills. The role involves advocating for clients, assisting with plan development, and offering community resource linkages. Full-time and part-time shifts available, with competitive benefits including paid time-off and health insurance.

Qualifications

• Must have previous personal experience as a recipient of mental health services.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office Programs, email, and Internet is required.
• Obtain certification as a peer specialist within one year of employment.
• Certification as a peer specialist within one year of employment.
• Strong communication skills are essential and interaction with families, caregivers, and professionals is necessary.
• Must meet MHRC/RBHS driver requirements, including a valid Florida Driver's License, automobile insurance, and up to eight points on license.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office, email, and Internet is required.

Responsibilities

• Provide peer coaching and support services aligned with the FACT model.
• Advocate for persons served to ensure necessary social services.
• Develop plans of growth and development utilizing Wellness Recovery Action Planning.
• Advocates for persons served to ensure access to social services including activities of daily living.
• Works with individuals to identify community resources and trainings supporting their goals and interests.
• Provides side-by-side assistance with daily living activities (e.g. housekeeping, budgeting, shopping).
• Provides recovery support to increase social and interpersonal activities.
• Assists individuals served to develop problem-solving skills for recovery challenges.
• Promotes self-efficacy through role-modeling strength-based recovery.

Skills

Strong communication skills

Experience with severe mental illness

Problem-solving skills

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Tools

Microsoft Office Programs

Job description

Benefits/Perks

Full Time positions offer a comprehensive benefits package. Part Time positions offer a partial benefits package.

Company Overview

Mental Health Resource Center is a not-for-profit Florida corporation that provides a wide range of mental health and behavioral health care services to the community such as 24-hour emergency services, inpatient psychiatric services for children, adolescents, and adults as well as outpatient services such as medication management, case management, and counseling.

Job Summary

The FACT Program is a multi-disciplinary, clinical team which assumes responsibility for directly providing needed treatment, rehabilitation and support services to adult persons with severe and persistent mental illness promoting recovery, empowerment, self-determination and decision-making for each FACT participant.

The FACT Peer Specialist has personal, practical knowledge and experiences as a recipient of mental health services and is willing to share these for the benefit of the team and the persons served by the FACT team. Provides needed peer counseling, wellness recovery, and support services to individuals served by the FACT Program in order to reduce or eliminate the need for hospitalization and to enhance their independence, autonomy and quality of life. Promotes recovery, empowerment, self-determination and decision‑making for each FACT participant.

Some of the responsibilities of the FACT team include providing clinical and supportive services through advocacy, crisis intervention, assessments, evaluations, treatment planning, case management and medication management. Participants are also provided with community referrals, symptom education, work-related vocational and educational services, social and interpersonal relationship training, and support for the participants’ families and care givers.

Most of a FACT team member's day is spent in the community completing many of the above duties. Only about 15% of their time is spent in the office. Company vehicles are available, however members of the FACT team also need to use their personal vehicles to provide services.

The FACT team operates beyond normal business hours, rotates holiday and weekend responsibilities, and rotates an emergency on‑call cell phone.

The Mental Health Resource Center manages 8 out of the 32 FACT programs in the state of Florida: Rockledge/Brevard, Tampa, Clearwater, Kissimmee, Winter Haven, Gainesville and two teams in Jacksonville.

Responsibilities

• Assists individuals served in the development of their own plans of growth and development. i.e. utilizing the Wellness Recovery Action Planning (WRAP).
• Provides peer coaching, wellness recovery, and support services in alignment with the FACT model, based on Assertive Community Treatment best practices.
• Participates in daily organizational meetings.
• Advocates for persons served to ensure acquisition of necessary social services to include activities of daily living, including medical, dental, legal, housing, and entitlements and documents the effectiveness of the service and the person’s satisfaction.
• Works collaboratively with individuals served to identify and support linkages to community resources and trainings: educational, vocational, social, cultural, mutual self‑help groups, etc., that supports the person’s chosen goals and interests.
• Provides side‑by‑side assistance to persons served in all aspects of daily living (i.e., assist with housekeeping, budgeting, grocery shopping, etc.).
• Provides recovery support services to increase an individual’s social and interpersonal activities (i.e. supportive coaching, social skills development, side‑by‑side coaching, planning social/leisure time activities, trauma informed care).
• Assist individuals served to develop problem‑solving skills so that they can respond to challenges that may arise in their recovery process.
• Promote the development of self‑efficacy through role‑modeling strength‑based recovery.

Qualifications

• In order to be considered candidates must have a high school diploma or equivalent and must have previous personal experience as a recipient of mental health services is required.
• Experience working with persons with severe and persistent mental illness preferred.
• Obtain, or work towards obtaining, certification as a peer specialist within one year of employment.
• Strong communication skills are essential and this individual must be able to interact appropriately with internal and external customers, including families, caregivers, community service providers, supervisory staff and other department professionals.
• Each FACT team member contributes to the completeness and confidentiality of clinical records by ensuring documentation, paperwork and system entries meet internal and external guidelines for content, accuracy and timeliness.
• Each member of the FACT team must meet MHRC/RBHS vehicle driver requirements, to include a valid Florida Driver's License, automobile insurance coverage equaling $200,000 and no more than eight points on their license for any combination of violations.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office Programs, email, and the use of the Internet is required.

Position Details

Full time or Part time Shifts Available: Monday through Friday (rotating weekends, on‑call, and holidays)

Renaissance Behavioral Health Systems and Mental Health Resource Center are Equal Opportunity Employers. Background screening and clearance through the Florida Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse is required for all positions: https://info.flclearinghouse.com

Benefits and Compensation

Paid Time‑Off

Paid Holidays

Life & Disability Insurance

403(b)

Flexible Spending Account

Employee Assistance Program

MHRC is a great company to work for. There is a lot of opportunity for advancement. The PTO accrual is high, and grows as you work with the company. Upper management encourages staff to reach out for support and those that do recognize the benefit of it. It’s difficult at times, as there is a lot of information, but the work is extremely rewarding. It is never boring and you know you’re making a difference.

About MHRC

Mental Health Resource Center, Inc. (MHRC) is a nonprofit organization that provides a wide range of behavioral health and social services to the community. Included in MHRC’s service array are 24‑hour emergency services and inpatient psychiatric services for children, adolescents, and adults. Outpatient services include medication management, care coordination, case management, intensive case management team services, counseling, psychosocial rehabilitation, an adult therapeutic family program, state hospital liaison services, mental health court, multidisciplinary forensic teams (MFT), jail‑based diversion services, a Co‑Responder Program with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Link‑to‑Life suicide prevention program, and services that assist individuals in obtaining benefits such as Social Security Income, Social Security Disability Income, Medicaid, food stamps, and housing. In addition, UF Health Jacksonville contracts with MHRC to manage the hospital’s adult inpatient psychiatric unit.

MHRC also operates eight Florida Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) programs for adults with severe and persistent mental illness, located in Clearwater, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Kissimmee, Rockledge, Tampa, and Winter Haven, as well as a FACT Lite program providing Linking, Advocating, Treating, Transitioning, Empowering & Recovery Support (LATTERS) services in Jacksonville. The two FACT teams located in Jacksonville serve residents of Duval, Clay, and Nassau counties.