Peer Support Specialist for OMH Supportive Housing

To Advocate. To Educate. To Empower. Together.

Location: Riverhead, NY and travel throughout Suffolk County

Availability: Immediate

Position Description:

Mission Statement: “To empower and inspire people of all communities to identify, pursue and sustain healthy, meaningful lives”.

MHAW strives to develop an authentic, diverse workforce that embraces, creates, respects and demonstrates diversity, equity, and inclusiveness in the work environment, towards one another and those we serve. We recognize that our agency is strongest when we all embrace the full spectrum of diversity and experience. We actively seek to employ a diverse workforce representative of the communities we serve.

Position: Peer Support Specialist for OMH Supportive Housing

Salary: $23.07 per hour, non-exempt

Hours: Part-Time 18.75 hours/week, non-exempt

Location: Riverhead, NY and travel throughout Suffolk County

Position Description:

Peer Support Specialists establish helping relationships with people with psychiatric disabilities who we serve through our OMH Supportive Housing Program in order to assist them to connect to and utilize formal and natural resources that are critical to attaining and maintaining productive, healthy, and satisfying lifestyles.

Peer Specialists have a variety of duties and responsibilities that are commensurate with expectations of all direct service staff members to support and further the mission of Association for Mental Health & Wellness. The responsibilities of the OMH Supportive Housing Peer Support Specialist are primarily direct services as well as working as part of the OMH Supportive Housing providing services to residents of OMH Supportive Housing.

Key responsibilities may include, but are not limited to:

• To provide regular scheduled Peer Support visits to OMH Supportive Housing Residents identified by direct supervisor. The Peer Specialist may also be asked to reach out to residents who are struggling with any barriers to wellness and living independently in order to assist them to identify and use appropriate strategies and access resources.
• To provide transportation and support to residents in the OMH Supportive Housing Program to help to ensure the understanding of the outcomes of medical or mental health care appointments. Assist to obtain any relevant documentation from any appointments with these providers, as well as, helping to ensure that any follow up appointments are scheduled.
• To provide individual contacts with OMH SH residents that serve to support the resident’s success in living independently. To accurately record these individual contacts on the SH daily encounter log.
• To generate and maintain documentation of individual services in our electronic health record in a manner that is timely and consistent with expected protocols provided in training and supervision.

• Experience with and knowledge of the New York State and Suffolk County public mental health system. Knowledge of advocacy, self-help and empowerment programs for recipients of mental health services.
• The ability to convey a message of hope and recovery for people with psychiatric disabilities in presentations to providers of mental health services.
• To act in a manner that exemplifies positive morale, role modeling, and judgment in the promotion of a recovery-directed program culture.
• To continually seek to enhance one’s skills, proficiency, and practical understanding in all areas pertinent to Peer Support Values, Recovery and Wellness and healthy boundaries.
• Planning , organizing and attention to detail

Send a resume and cover letter expressing your interest in this position to:

Kathy Elfers, Human Resources Director kelfers@mhaw.org