Peer Support Specialist

**PEER SUPPORT SPECIALIST**

**Health, Home and Community Program (HHC)**

**One (1) Bargaining Unit, Permanent Full-Time position**

**(Monday - Friday: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm)**

**About Cota**

If you're looking to contribute your expertise at a community-based organization making a positive impact in the lives of thousands of people each year - Cota would love to hear from you

We provide a collaborative and inclusive work environment that emphasizes employee support, learning opportunities and excellence in our field. We offer flexible hours and employer-paid benefits for some classifications along with other perks and wellness activities.

For 50 years, Cota has been supporting adults with mental health and cognitive challenges to live well within their community. We provide person-centred support to help individuals find inspiration and hope in themselves, so they are better able to pursue meaningful change in their lives.

To find out more about us and our programs/services and employee benefits please visit our website

**Role Overview**

We are seeking a dynamic and innovative individual who will work enthusiastically to deliver recovery oriented, client and family centered and comprehensive services that meet client needs, ensure client safety and work within a quality improvement framework to identify opportunities for enhancing quality and quantitative outcomes of the services. Client and family centered care is guiding principle at Cota that helps improve decision making processes, health outcome and client experiences. The successful individual will embed this guiding principle into their work. We invite applicants from diverse background who can represent our client population.

**About the Role and the Team**

The Health, Home and Community Program at 220 Oak St. is an interdisciplinary team that is working collaboratively with Toronto Community Housing Corporation. The team will rely on the interdisciplinary approach to provide a continuum of integrated Case Management, housing support and peer support services to meet the needs of individuals living at 220 Oak St.

The Peer Support Specialist is responsible for providing recovery oriented services in a manner consistent with Cota Mission, Vision and Values.

**Summary of Duties**:
Responsibilities of this position include but are not limited to those below:

- Provide peer support to clients living at 220 Oak St., a TCHC Building;
- Work collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders, and to promote adequate care and support for the clients;
- Work collaboratively with own team members, staff of TCHC, and tenants to reduce harm, improve health, well being, and tenancy;
- Advocate with and on behalf of clients to improve living environment/conditions
- Create, maintain and improve a healthy working relationship with the client to improve health and well being;
- Able to relate to and engage with tenants from a peer perspective
- Use self-awareness of one's recovery process and lived experience of the mental health system and homelessness to coach and mentor clients within their recovery process
- Provide clients with informal counseling, emotional support, group support services, linkage with community resources, and instruction in life skills
- Assist and support tenants with household management, routine daily living activities, and socialization
- Provide a consumer perspective to program development and implementation and build collaborative working relationships with members of the interdisciplinary team and community agencies as applicable
- All activities are performed to encourage client independence and promote client hope, self-determination and decision making
- Group counselling activities:

- Lead on organizing and facilitating various recovery oriented group activities for 220 Oak St. tenants. These may include, but are not limited to, breakfast programs, music groups, and WRAP. Community development is a core component of the Peer role at 220 Oak.
- Individual informal counseling and advocacy activities:

- May assist with the development of client recovery and goal plans
- Promote independence through teaching, emotional support, coaching, and mentoring
- Ensure that informal counseling is conducted with the principles of recovery and psychosocial rehabilitation in mind
- Provide direct support to assist clients with Activities of Daily Living, including ongoing, hands on, pest control support
- Facilitate links to other community resources as appropriate and consistent with the individual's recovery goals
- Documentation and Administrative tasks:

- Properly document all client interactions and meet the Cota documentation requirements
- Participate in program activities, including planning and evaluation in order to provide a consumer perspective

**Other Responsibilities**:

- Work collaboratively, respectfully and constructively with clients, team members, other service providers, volunteers, management, and exter