Senior Peer Recovery Specialist - Housing Services

Overview 

The Senior Peer Recovery Specialist will serve as a model, mentor, advocate, and motivator for clients in the behavioral health department. This position integrates the lived experience into clients’ treatment goals and services by practicing a strengths-based and harm reduction approach to recovery and wellness. This position also provides support and mentorship to peer recovery staff across departments. 

Key Role Responsibilities 

• Through in-clinic walk-in services and regularly scheduled visits, build relationships that model wellness and recovery with new and assigned clients that results in improved engagement with behavioral health and addiction services.
• Triage clients who come for walk-in services and assist them with making connections to care.  Assist clients seeking inpatient services with referrals for appropriate level of care, as indicated by client and treatment team.

• With supervisory guidance, use motivational and coaching strategies to help clients better engage in care. Provide support necessary for engagement, including reminder calls, warm hand-offs, escorts and helping clients to identify support systems.
• Coordinate with team members regarding housing, health care, behavioral health and benefits related treatment goals and conduct specific tasks with the client to help promote goal attainment.
• Collaborate with clinic leadership to increase access to peer recovery support across the Agency. This includes co-facilitating substance abuse groups and participating in workgroups within and outside the Agency.
• Establish and maintain positive relationships with external behavioral health and addiction agencies to promote successful client referrals.    
• Serve as a subject matter expert and mentor to peer staff. Provide guidance and support to staff seeking Peer Recovery Specialist certification.  
• Complete documentation within clients’ electronic health record in an easy-to-understand way and in accordance with established formats and required timeframes.
• Actively develops own racial equity and inclusion lens and supports development of REI lens in colleagues; identifies and addresses health disparities.

Key Agency Responsibilities  

In addition to role responsibilities, each staff member of Health Care for the Homeless has the following responsibilities as a part of their employment: 

In addition to role responsibilities, every staff member has the following responsibilities as a part of their employment: 

• Models and reinforces the core values of dignity, authenticity, hope, justice, passion, and balance
• Actively participates in performance improvement and advocacy activities that support the mission 
• Protects clients’ personal health information by maintaining compliance with HIPAA and other relevant health care-related IT security regulations
• Performs other duties on an as-needed basis

Knowledge, Experience and Skills  

Formal Education and Training 

• High school diploma, GED or equivalent required; AA degree in Human Services preferred 
• Certification as a Peer Recovery Specialist required
• Personal vehicle and valid Maryland driver’s license required

Experience   

• Two years of experience in connecting individuals to mental health and addiction services
• Experience working in a health care setting preferred
• Personal experience with substance abuse and/or mental illness, required

Skills 

• Knowledge of Baltimore City community resources for addiction, social services and mental health
• Willingness to adopt Harm Reduction and Housing First principles and apply them to work with clients
• Approaches change with a positive, open-minded attitude
• Demonstrates personal integrity and has well-developed interpersonal skills necessary to engage clients and promote positive relationships with other community agencies and providers
• Able to be flexible and work as part of an interdisciplinary team
• Able to take initiative and problem solve
• Able to work with ill, disabled, emotionally upset, and sometimes hostile clients

 Health Care for the Homeless is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to racial equity and inclusion. We make a particular effort to recruit and promote Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) for open positions. BIPOC, LGBTQIA individuals, people with disabilities, and people with other marginalized identities are encouraged to apply.

This is an essential onsite position primarily based at an agency location.