Recovery Support Specialist, Community-Based

Heritage Behavioral Health Center- HBHC; Decatur (IL); On-site; USD 25,000 - 32,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Health, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) and Roth plans

Tuition assistance

Mileage reimbursement

Job summary

Heritage Behavioral Health Center is seeking Recovery Support Specialists in Macon County, IL. You’ll use lived experience to support individuals on their recovery journeys in a non-clinical, peer-led role.

Responsibilities include advocacy, coaching, and connection to community resources while offering family support and engaging in treatment services. Full-time schedule with predictable weekday hours and paid wellness days.

Qualifications

• Lived experience with mental health and/or substance use recovery is required or strongly preferred.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to build trusting relationships.
• Willingness to share your recovery story to support others as part of peer support.
• Ability to obtain CRSS certification within 12 months with company support.

Responsibilities

• Advocate for customers in recovery.
• Provide strengths-based coaching and emotional support.
• Support engagement in treatment services and connect to resources.
• Work with families to understand needs and support at home and in the community.
• Collaborate with Community Support Specialists and care teams to improve outcomes.

Skills

Lived experience

Communication skills

Relationship building

Willingness to share story

Education

High School Diploma or GED

Job description

Community Support Program | Macon County, Illinois

Heritage Behavioral Health Center

$18-$23/hour | Every other Friday off, paid | Monday-Friday, 8-5

Your recovery story can change someone else's. Heritage Behavioral Health Center is hiring Recovery Support Specialists to join our Community Support team in Macon County. If you have lived experience with mental health or substance use recovery, you have something no textbook can teach: the understanding that recovery is possible.

Pay and Schedule

Pay is based on credential:

• High School Diploma / GED: $18.00/hour + every other Friday off paid
• Certified Recovery Support Specialist (CRSS): $23.00/hour + every other Friday off paid

Schedule: Full-time, Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. | Every other Friday off (paid wellness day)

Why You'll Love Working Here

• Every other Friday off as a paid wellness day: that's 26 three-day weekends a year
• Your lived experience is valued as expertise, not something to hide
• Predictable weekday hours, Monday-Friday, 8-5
• Mileage reimbursement at the IRS rate for work-related travel
• Ongoing professional development, training, and CEU support
• A mission-driven, collaborative team of peers, case managers, clinicians, and nurses
• Competitive pay commensurate with qualifications and experience
• Paid time off: vacation, sick, personal, and holiday leave
• Health, dental, and vision insurance with substantial agency contributions
• 401(k) and Roth retirement options
• Tuition assistance, Flexible Spending Accounts, EAP, fitness reimbursement, and additional life insurance

Your Role

As a Recovery Support Specialist, you'll use your own lived experience to walk alongside people on their recovery journey. Peer support is therapeutic, culturally responsive, and non-clinical. Through shared understanding, respect, and mutual empowerment, you'll help customers become and stay engaged in recovery, build skills, and reduce the likelihood of relapse.

You may also provide Family Peer Support to parents, guardians, and caregivers, helping them understand their loved one's needs, offer support at home and in the community, and advocate for the right services.

What You'll Do

• Advocate for customers in recovery
• Provide strengths-based coaching
• Offer emotional support and mentoring
• Support engagement in treatment services

Connect customers to community resources

Help customers identify and build natural supports

Teach and coach on skills development

Help customers and families navigate behavioral health and community systems

Educate customers and their families about mental health and substance use conditions and the recovery process

Promote customer- and family-driven practices

Work alongside Community Support Specialists and the wider care team

Qualifications

Required:

• High school diploma or GED
• Lived experience with mental health and/or substance use recovery, and willingness to share your story to support others
• Strong communication skills and the ability to build trusting relationships
• Ability to obtain certification as a Certified Recovery Support Specialist within 12 months - we will support you in this process!
• Valid driver's license, reliable transportation, and proof of automobile insurance

Preferred:

• Certified Recovery Support Specialist (CRSS) credential
• Experience in peer support, behavioral health, or community services

About Heritage Behavioral Health Center

Heritage is a mission-driven Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic based in Decatur, Illinois, dedicated to improving mental health and substance use care across a multi-county area.