Job Description

Purpose:

The Peer Support Specialist (PSS) works with clients in one-on-one and group settings to help clients live their lives to the fullest. By modeling the use of personal power, the PSS provides hope and encouragement to support clients in reaching their goals and dreams and provides supports necessary to assist clients to make lifestyle changes that lead to better whole-health outcomes.

Job Summary: 

The PSS, under program management, assists clients in expressing their goals for recovery, helps clients monitor their progress, models coping techniques and self-help strategies based on the PSS’ own recovery experience, and advocates for the client in obtaining relevant services. 

Essential Functions:

• Build professional relationships, based on mutual learning and the foundational principles of hope, equality, respect, personal responsibility, and self-determination, to support clients, without the constraints of the traditional expert/patient or expert family member role.
• Lead, or co-lead, health/wellness-oriented client groups.
• Offer hope through your own life example and use personal stories in a conscious and deliberate way in the service of helping another.
• Promote recovery, wellness, and healthy lifestyle behaviors.
• Encourage active participation in managing illness and assist clients with behavioral health issues to identify and pursue a change they would like to make in an area of wellness.
• Deliver peer-led, evidence-based practices (EBP) that help clients set goals, increase healthy lifestyle habits, maximize/prioritize their time with treatment professionals, reduce self-stigma and find or recover lost roles and goals in life (For example: Whole Health Action Management (WHAM), Shared Decision-making, movement groups, heart health activities/programs, walking groups, weight loss groups, smoking cessation groups, etc.).
• Obtain and maintain appropriate EPB training to provide these services to clients.
• Help clients cope with social or emotional barriers to stay motivated to reach their goals.
• Share strategies for management of health conditions.
• Convey a deep respect and empathy for the impact of the effects of a serious behavioral health challenge on all aspects of life and provide empathic understanding of another’s situation through the shared experience of emotional and psychological distress and improvement.
• Help bridge the gap between clients and health professionals and help them seek clinical and community resources when it is appropriate.
• Help identify resources for clients such as where to buy healthy foods, find pleasant, convenient locations for exercise, or low-cost/free social events.
• Help client complete paperwork.
• In special circumstances, provide transportation with urgent appointments where situational barriers interfere with attending (such as unresolved lack of transportation or fear of attending).
• In partnership with Care Coordinators and Health & Wellness Coaches, keep clients engaged by following up with them and monitoring their progress between visits and aim to re-engage clients into treatment when visits are missed.
• Regular maintenance calls for a defined period following end of treatment.
• Help develop an individualized, person-centered service plan.
• Document provision of services consistent with clinical and administrative procedures.
• Ensure appropriate Release of Information (ROI) forms are signed
• Complete NOMs (brief assessments) to help track client progress as needed
• Comply with HIPAA and other Federal or State Data Privacy laws related to the handling of organizational data.
• Use computer to complete and track job tasks.
• Meet defined personal and department goals and activity metrics.
• Support, and demonstrate MHP’s mission, vision and values through both behavior and job performance and follows policies, procedures, Compliance Plan and Standards of Conduct daily.
• Communicate with other MHP staff/clients/customers/partners.
• Regular attendance is required to perform other essential functions of the job.
• Other tasks as assigned.

Specialized Duties: 

Integrated Health Home PSS – The Integrated Health Home is a partnership between MHP (now, Clinica Family Health), and Dental Aid to provide comprehensive whole-person care in a collaborative team-based approach to improve the overall health population of our clients.

• Meet with clients during the same-day primary care visits to welcome client to the clinic and briefly assess client needs.
• Demonstrate commitment to the MHP Integrated Health Home goals, MHP philosophies, and a recovery orientation.
• Work in a diverse setting to provide succinct presentation of client needs, and team actions required to support client.
• Participate in quality improvement activities. 

What's In It For You:

• Medical (Kaiser and Cigna options), dental, vision, FSA, HSA, life, disability, and retirement (with company match) plans.
• Paid time off, paid holidays, and a comprehensive wellness program.
• Commitment to Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion work
• Company contribution to student loans
• Engaged employer who believes you are an important factor in delivering our mission to the community with lots of opportunity to for dialogue with leaders
• Training, personal, and professional growth opportunities

We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity or expression, or veteran status. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.

As a condition of employment, you will be required to receive the COVID-19 vaccination (and any subsequent boosters) and the annual influenza vaccine. Medical exemptions or religious accommodations may be requested. 

Qualifications:

• High school diploma or GED required.
• Must attain Colorado Peer and Family Specialist Certification (CPFS) by attending a Colorado Provider Association approved training within 9 months of hire and maintain certification while employed.
• Must have lived experience with behavioral health illness or substance use disorder, preferably in the community mental health system.
• Understanding of, or ability to learn and maintain, community resources available to clients.
• If driving clients, must be at least 21 years of age; and possess a current CO Driver’s License and good driving record.

This position will be posted, at minimum, until September 11th and may remain open until a sufficient candidate pool has been collected.

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