Veteran Lead Peer Support Specialist (Supportive Services for Veterans Family)

General Summary:

The Supportive Services for Veterans Family (SSVF) is currently seeking a lead peer specialist. Veteran Peer Support Specialists are Veterans with lived experience in recovery from a mental health condition, substance abuse, and/or military trauma who provide support to other Veterans who are in recovery. The position provides services throughout Maryland with the exception of Southern Maryland Counties. The position will report to SSVF leadership.

The Lead Veteran Peer Support Specialist functions as an interprofessional team member, assisting other professional and non-professional personnel in a mental health treatment program. The position performs a variety of therapeutic and supportive tasks that include assisting their peers in articulating their goals for recovery, learning and practicing new skills, helping them monitor their progress, assisting them in their treatment, modeling effective coping techniques and self-help strategies based on the peers own recovery experience, and supporting them in advocating for themselves to obtain effective services. The position assists Veterans in treatment based on the principles of recovery, wellness and resiliency by promoting self-determination, personal responsibility, and the empowerment inherent in self-directed recovery.

Principal Responsibilities and Duties:

• Serves as a recovery agent by providing and advocating for effective wellness and holistic recovery-oriented services with the goal of helping Veterans achieve improved health, wellness, and quality of life through a change process
• Assists Veterans in discovering and identifying their personal strengths, abilities and needs and articulating personal recovery goals through the use of individual or group meetings and telecommunications
• Uses ongoing individual and group meetings (and other means of communication) to coach Veterans how to identify and combat negative self-talk and overcome fears by providing a forum where Veterans can share their experiences
• Partners with the Intake/Outreach SSVF team to identify community events to actively participate in. Present on Veterans services and peer support role in external and internal meetings
• Works with the veteran peer support positions in addition to Veteran leadership to develop internal department policies and guidance related to peer support services
• Ability to have the insight and direction to work with the peer support positions in addition to Veteran leadership to identify key areas of peer support need within the veterans programming infrastructure; assist in feedback towards the internal workflow that is to be established within each segment of SSVF programming
• Observes behaviors that might indicate difficulty adapting or responding to treatment (e.g., missed appointments, failure to maintain abstinence, risk to self or others, disruptive behavior), completes appropriate documentation and reports concerns to the interprofessional team in a timely manner
• As necessary, handles crisis interventions for Veterans and addresses other emergent situations in collaboration with a mental health professional
• Serves as a liaison between the Clinical Team and the Veteran, participating in weekly interprofessional team meetings
• Encourages Veterans to develop new and/or re-establish positive, personally meaningful relationships
• Supports Veterans’ efforts to identify personally meaningful roles and activities in the communities of the Veteran’s choice
• Shares their own recovery story in an organized and succinct manner to convey hope, tailoring the story to meet the needs of the target audience
• Serves as a role model for Veterans in recovery by living in accordance with their values, demonstrating effective coping behaviors, life strategies, and use of resources available to Veterans to achieve wellbeing
• Identifies, accesses and when needed, accompanies Veterans to available community resources, supports, and services (e.g., self-help groups, legal services, food bank, housing)
• Shares recovery tools and resources with Veterans and describes their experience using them
• Supports Veterans in the development of self-advocacy skills
• Provides case management type services, which may involve advocacy, service coordination, and resource management
• Participates in the service, training, consultation and other professional activities of Veterans Recovery Resources and functions as a fully vested member of the interprofessional team
• Maintains a working knowledge of current trends and development in holistic approaches to wellness and recovery by reading books, journals, and other relevant materials
• Successfully complete the peer recovery certification through Voices of Hope

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Required:

1. Veteran who has spent a minimum of two years in personal recovery from a mental health and/or substance abuse condition
2. Leadership and mentorship experience a plus
3. Proficient in basic written and spoken English
4. Proficient in the use of technology, including computing and cellular phones
5. High School diploma or GED
6. Valid driver’s license
7. Willing to self-identify as a person in recovery for the benefit of others
8. Previous Peer Support Specialist experience preferred but not mandatory
9. Must have a working vehicle with liability insurance and pass a background check.

What you'll get from us.

At Sheppard Pratt, you will work alongside a multi-disciplined team led by a bold vision to change lives. We offer:

• A commitment to professional development, including a comprehensive tuition reimbursement program to support ongoing education and licensure and/or certification preparation
• Comprehensive medical, dental and vision benefits for benefit eligible positions
• 403b retirement match
• Generous paid-time-off for benefit eligible positions
• Complimentary Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Generous mileage reimbursement program

The pay range for this position is $22.11/hr minimum to $22.77/hr maximum.  Pay for this position is determined on a number of factors, including but not limited to, years and level of related experience.

Salary : $22 - $23