Peer Support Specialist

Capital Region Chamber; City of Albany (NY); On-site; USD 47,000 - 52,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Excellent benefits

Staff training

Paid time off

On-call stipend

Job summary

Mohawk Opportunities is seeking a Peer Support Specialist to engage and empower young adults (18-24) with mental illness to achieve independent living, education, employment, and recovery. The role uses lived experience and recovery-oriented approaches to mentor, advocate, and connect clients to community resources in home, community, and office settings.

Certification in CRPA or CPS is required, with two years of human services experience preferred.

Qualifications

• Certified Recovery Peer Advocate (CRPA) or Certified Peer Specialist (CPS). Provisional certification considered if in process.
• Two years of human services experience preferred, including work with young adults.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, advocacy, and relationship-building skills.
• Valid NYS driver's license; must have a personal vehicle for business purposes.

Responsibilities

• Engage clients in a respectful, strength-based, culturally competent manner.
• Assist clients to identify strengths, needs, goals, and barriers and develop individualized support plans.
• Provide peer mentoring, advocacy, and wellness coaching to promote self-sufficiency.
• Support daily living skills, budgeting, medication management, and community participation.
• Assist accessing community resources across behavioral health, medical, vocational, housing, and social services.
• Conduct home, community, and office visits; perform apartment and wellness checks as appropriate.
• Facilitate or co-facilitate psychoeducational and skill-building groups.
• Identify crises and provide on-call crisis intervention and safety planning.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Communication

Advocacy

Relationship-building

Organizational skills

Documentation

Problem-solving

Time-management

Job description

Make a Difference Helping Young Adults in Transition!

The Peer Support Specialist utilizes lived experience and peer support principles to engage, mentor, advocate for,

and support young adults (ages 18-24) who have a diagnosis of a mental illness in achieving their goals related to

independent living, community integration, wellness, education, employment, and recovery. Services are provided in the home, community, and office settings. The Peer Support Specialist fosters hope, self-advocacy, and empowerment while connecting individuals to community resources and supports. Duties include:

• Engage the young adults in a respectful, strength-based, and culturally competent manner. Build trusting, supportive relationships with clients using a strength-based, recovery-oriented, trauma-informed approach.
• Assist clients in identifying strengths, needs, goals, and barriers related to independent living, education, employment, social engagement, housing stability, wellness, and recovery. Collaborate with clients to develop and implement individualized support plans and recovery goals.
• Provide peer mentoring, encouragement, advocacy, and wellness coaching to promote self-sufficiency and community integration.
• Support clients in developing daily living skills, including budgeting, medication management, personal wellness, household management, transportation, and community participation. Provide support and counseling focusing on psychoeducation, skill building, rehabilitative counseling, money management, medication management, and work or school readiness to individuals.
• Assist clients in accessing and utilizing community resources, including behavioral health, medical, educational, vocational, housing, legal, and social service programs. Assess needs related to food, clothing, household items, transportation, and other basic necessities and facilitate access to available resources.
• Conduct home, community, and office-based visits, including apartment and wellness checks as appropriate.
• Facilitate or co-facilitate psychoeducational and skill-building groups that promote recovery, independent living, and community participation.
• Identify potential crisis situations and assist clients in developing crisis prevention and response plans. Provide on-call crisis intervention services on a rotating schedule. Always act to ensure client’s safety, readily assesses needs, provide support and interventions as needed and secure crisis interventions in urgent situations.
• Provide transportation to clients when necessary, using agency vehicles. Employees must have access and be willing to use their personal vehicle to attend client/member meetings in the community and meetings outside the office/program.

Skills/Qualifications for the Peer Specialist include:

• Certified Recovery Peer Advocate (CRPA) or Certified Peer Specialist (CPS). Provisional certification will be considered if in the process of obtaining permanent certification.

Minimum of two years of human services experience preferred, including experience working with young adults.

• Strong interpersonal, communication, advocacy, and relationship-building skills.
• Excellent organizational, documentation, problem-solving, and time-management abilities.

Valid and insurable NYS driver's license. Must have a personal vehicle to use for business purposes.

Salary and Benefits of the Peer Specialist:

• $22.83/hour: $47,486.40/annual equivalent. 40 hours per week.
• On-call on a rotation basis. $210/week on-call stipend.
• Excellent benefits, staff training, generous paid time off, and a 30-minute paid lunch.
• Supportive work environment.
• Make A Difference Helping Others in a Workplace Where You Matter

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Equal Opportunity Employer

All offers for employment will be contingent upon the candidate having successfully completed background checks.

Mohawk Opportunities is committed to helping individuals living with mental illness achieve stable community living and independence. Our goal is to provide services and supports that assist individuals living with mental illness to thrive and achieve their full potential for a happy, independent life in the community of their choice.

If you need reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the Sr. Director of Human Resources at 518-836-3980.

Leadership Investors are committed businesses and organizations that take a leadership role in our work to accelerate business growth and prosperity in our community.