Recovery Support Specialist, Community-Based

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

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) retirement options

Tuition assistance

Flexible Spending Accounts

EAP

Job summary

Heritage Behavioral Health Center in Decatur, Illinois, 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 bring unique insight to help others on their path to recovery and engagement with services.

As a full-time role, you’ll work Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with every other Friday off paid.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED
• Lived experience with mental health and/or substance use recovery
• Strong communication skills and ability to build trusting relationships
• Will obtain CRSS certification within 12 months with company support
• Valid driver's license, reliable transportation, and proof of automobile insurance

Responsibilities

• 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

Skills

Lived experience

Strong communication

Certification within 12 months

Driver's license

Job description

Recovery Support Specialist (Peer Support)

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 resourcesHelp 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.