Peer Specialist
hace 10 días
New York
Job Description Peer Specialist: Are you looking to join a dynamic team focused on providing high quality health care to communities across Brooklyn & Queens? If so, you’ve come to the right place. For over 125 years, Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens has been providing quality social services to the neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Queens and currently offers 160-plus programs and services for children, youth, adults, seniors, and those struggling with mental illness. Catholic Charities provides comprehensive care coordination and treatment services to individuals living with serious mental illness, complex medical needs and substance use needs. Our Queens ACT team provides an integrated set of evidence-based treatment, rehabilitation, case management, and support services delivered by a mobile, multidisciplinary mental health treatment team. ACT supports client recovery through a highly individualized approach that provides clients with the tools to obtain and maintain housing, employment, relationships and relief from symptoms and medication side effects. The Peer Specialist is part of this multi-disciplinary team and is responsible for delivering intensive in-home and community-based services to individuals living with severe mental illness, whom have a treatment history characterized by frequent use of psychiatric hospitalization and emergency rooms, involvement with the criminal justice system, alcohol/substance abuse, and lack of engagement in traditional outpatient services. RESPONSIBILITIES: The Peer Specialist will play a vital role in outreach and engagement of clients on the ACT team. The Peer Specialist will used personal lived experience as a service recipient to serve as a role model, educate clients about self-help techniques and self-help group processes, teach effective coping strategies and symptom monument skills, help clients develop daily living skills, assist in clarifying rehabilitation and recovery goals, and assist in the development of community support systems and networks. The Peer Specialist engages clients in peer-based services to identify and overcome barriers to community integration, utilizing a peer relationship to foster connection, trust, understanding and validation with community providers and supports. The Peer Specialist will collaborate with ACT team members to ensure clients become both linked and engaged with identified community providers and that their support network is sufficient to meet their needs. Duties of the Peer Specialist include, but are not limited to: • Responsible for providing direct treatment and support services to clients with psychiatric diagnoses, co-occurring substance use, chronic physical health problems and complex social needs. Includes weekly visits to clients., • Assess and provide direct services to participants in the following areas: health and wellness, housing, income support, education, vocational training, employment and social supports, medication support., • Provide intensive emotional and practical support to clients, especially when clients are transitioning between settings or from hospital to community., • Conduct home visits as assigned- Individual sessions with clients emphasizing prevention and preparing for independent community living and the promotion of optimum mental and emotional health. May require helping clients deal with issues associated with but not limited to family and social relationships; stress and symptom management; activities of daily living; medication management; and housing readiness., • Assist and instruct clients in attending to daily living skills such as personal hygiene, grooming and laundry, nutrition/meal preparation, budgeting, and socialization tasks., • Community navigation including accompanying to first behavioral health and medical appointment, travel training, reengagement in community care, referral to services with ability to identify and address potential services and barriers to obtain and maintain such services., • Make visits to hospitalized clients to coordinate care. Provide advocacy for hospitalized clients., • Assist in client wellness self-management groups, consumer advisory board meetings and other activities and groups focused on education, health, wellness, smoking cessation and recovery. SPECIFICATIONS FOR EDUCATION/CERTIFICATIONS/LICENSES • High School Diploma or GED., • OMH Peer Certification preferred. SPECIFICATIONS FOR EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING • Completion of an internship or comparable training in peer advocacy., • Experience in providing advocacy services to people who are mentally ill and/or homeless., • Past or current recipient of mental health, substance services or homeless services preferred., • History of mental illness and at least one year of symptom remission., • Knowledge of mental illness and substance abuse disorders., • Basic knowledge of treatment, rehabilitation, and community support programs as they relate to clients and their families., • Basic knowledge of techniques for identifying risk, including crisis management techniques., • Person who has developed own recovery plan and has demonstrated relatively stable and successful management of his/her recovery., • Ability to read and write in English, • Knowledge of computer programs (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, & Outlook)., • Good communication skills., • Knowledge of the second language is preferred (Spanish, Russian, Creole, Cantonese). We offer competitive Salary and excellent benefits including generous time off, Medical, Dental, Vision, Retirement Savings with Agency Match, Transit, life insurance and other additional voluntary benefits. EOE/AA. For more information on our organization, please visit our website at: Company DescriptionFor over 125 years, Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens has been providing quality social services to the neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Queens, and currently offers 160-plus programs and services for children, youth, adults, seniors, and those struggling with mental illness.For over 125 years, Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens has been providing quality social services to the neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Queens, and currently offers 160-plus programs and services for children, youth, adults, seniors, and those struggling with mental illness.