PEER SUPPORT SPECIALIST (74740)

Summary of Job Function: Under the general supervision, peer support specialists perform a wide range of tasks that are designed to assist consumers in recovery and living in the community by sharing his/her own personal experience in dealing with mental illness and/or substance abuse.

Qualifications: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential function satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Essential Functions:

1. Promotes the idea and concept of recovery by sharing their personal experience with mental illness/substance abuse and their own personal recovery experience.

2. Assists in the treatment of consumers by providing paraprofessional support by helping consumers develop coping skills, self-help skills, and communication skills. Also, helps identify consumers individual warring signs and helps develop ways to prevent relapse.

3. Assists non-consumers staff to understand recovery, the importance of recovery based services and the value of the experience lived by individuals with mental illness or substance abuse.

4. Models and practices recovery principals in all activities including hope, empowerment, responsibility, and self-determination.

5. Serves as positive role model for consumers in terms of personal responsibility, selfadvocacy, and hopefulness via telling their recovery story, how needs are respectfully met, and how a belief in themselves is maintained.

6. Assists consumers to cultivate connectedness in the persons life with self, others, the environment and to meaning and purpose based on recovery principals.

7. Assists consumers in developing natural supports and community living by learning multiple roles as friend, spouse, employee, student, etc., so a greater sense of identity is established.

8. Oversees safety of clients and directs emergencies that may arise during shift.

9. Maintain a strong working knowledge of Center policies, procedures, and licensure regulations, governing Presteras service delivery.

10. Organizes and participates in leisure activities with clients, providing instruction and guidance as to appropriate behavior and interactions while also maintaining client confidentiality and adheres to clinical standards established by licensing board and/or Prestera Center.

11. Other duties as assigned

Job Specifications:

1. Education, Certification/License, and/or Experience

a. High School diploma or GED;

b. Successful completion of Peer Support Training Specialist Course.

c. Strong knowledge of 12 Step programs and recovery resources in the community.

d. Must attain/maintain certification in Non-violent Crisis Intervention and CPR/FA during employment.

e. Must have a valid drivers license.

2. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities required: Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operation and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals. Ability to write routine reports and correspondence. Ability to speak effectively before groups of consumers or employees if organization. Ability to add and subtract two digit numbers and to multiply and divide with 10s and 100s. Ability to perform these operations using units of American money and weight measurement, volume, and distance. Ability to solve practical problems and eal with a varity of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardized exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

Physical & Mental Requirements: The physical demands described herein are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The job duties outlined herein are general statements that describe the basic job requirements and cannot state in words every aspect of job content. Prestera Center reserves the right to modify, delete, or reclassify these duties at its sole discretion at any time.