SUD Peer Support Specialist

Position Summary: The Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Peer Support Specialist is a grant funded position until August 2024, that serves an essential role in supporting the Behavioral Health team's implementation process, providing case management services and goal setting directly with patients. As an active, engaged member of a client's team, the Peer Support Specialist provides hope, encouragement, and recovery support services to a diverse population of program participants who have a range of behavioral health conditions and are at various stages of recovery. Drawing significantly on personal experience with and knowledge of local behavioral health services and other recovery resources, the peer staff help link individuals receiving services to community resources as directed by that individual's own recovery journey. The peer support staff work closely with primary care, behavioral health, and other community resources.

Duties:

• Be able to assist clients with creating own WRAP plan or another recovery plan.
• Help persons in crisis explore options that may be beneficial to their recovery and to maintaining stability.
• Provide culturally sensitive and age specific services. Continue to increase knowledge in this area.
• Surround clients in recovery, wellness, and hope.
• Focus positively with clients on emotional growth, strengths, and life (recovery) goals
• Encourage clients to become self-directed, focus on their strengths, exercise use of natural supports and view themselves as helpful, not just helped.
• Use active listening skills.
• Provide resources that are beneficial to recovery.
• Engage members to achieve health management goals through the use of recovery coaching, motivational interviewing, and problem-solving techniques.
• Follow up with clients via phone calls, home visits, and visits to other settings where members can be found.
• Have ongoing communication with referring sources.

• Understand and utilize the established supervisory hierarchy to communicate needs, as questions, mention concerns, etc. (Program needs - Community Services Manager, Clinical needs - Clinical supervisor).
• Clarifies issues and assists with the process of referral for treatment, rehabilitation, housing and supportive services. Follows-up to determine whether services were provided and used.
• Assists in completing applications and paper work for public entitlements and may accompany consumer on visits to agency offices and treatment programs.
• Accurately complete and punctually turn in timesheets.
• Accurately, respectfully, punctually complete all required documentation.
• Report threats to harm self or others immediately to clinical supervisor.
• Follow legalities regarding confidentiality, HIPAA and Mandated Reporting.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:

• Skilled in Microsoft Office Suite, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• Must be organized and demonstrate initiative, judgement, problem-solving, critical thinking, and decision making skills
• Must possess effective, professional oral and written communication skills
• Must maintain an effective and positive professional working relationship with staff and patients
• Fast-paced inner-city medical office environment
• Occasional extended work hours with evening/week-end work
• Complete required documentation for contractual and billing needs in the electronic medical record per policy.

Qualities:

• Be mindful to ethics, boundaries, and core competencies of a peer support worker.
• Assist peers to understand the purpose of peer support and recovery models.
• Professional communication with co-workers, referring professionals, outside agencies
• Effective problem solving and decision making
• Able to prioritize work expectations and respond quickly as needed
• Possess basic knowledge of computers (email, internet, etc.) as well as typical office equipment (fax, copier, etc.).
• Possess the ability to work independently, including organizing, planning, and prioritizing work
• Maintain emotional control under stress
• Follow NSCHC policies and procedures
• Resolve conflicts and effectively employ negotiation skills with others
• Maintain the utmost confidence concerning all verbal and written information whether obtained from service recipients or otherwise.
• Basic knowledge of how to assist clients with locating community resources (employment, housing, health, peer delivered services including 12 step groups, SMART Recovery, etc.)
• Work or volunteer experience providing peer support.
• Ability to exhibit a nonjudgmental approach, effective listening, good eye contact, and positive interactions.