Wellness And Recovery Peer Navigator

Position Title: Wellness and Recovery Peer Navigator

Reports to: Program Director

Direct Reports: None

Program/Department: Women's Residential

Location: Seaford, DE

Description of Position

The Wellness and Recovery Peer Navigator is a person who is recovering from a mental health condition and who is responsible for providing peer support to other individuals who are receiving services for those conditions. The main responsibility for this peer staff member is to provide transportation for consumers in our recovery programs. Wellness and Recovery Peer Navigator will provide support that is trauma-informed based on three principles; learning versus helping, relationship versus the individual, and hope and possibility versus fear. Wellness and Recovery Peer Navigator work on an interdisciplinary team and provide advocacy, insight, and support to other team members and service recipients about the successes and challenges faced by individuals who are living with mental health conditions.

Education and Experience

• High School Diploma or GED preferred

Professional Credentials

• CPR and First Aid
• Possesses Peer Specialist Certification or is working toward obtaining credential

Position Requirements

• Valid Driver’s License and Clean MVR
• Must be available to work overnights
• Must have 6 months sobriety
• Must be able to handle stressful situations
• Must be available to work Monday - Friday, 8:00AM to 4:00PM

Responsibilities

• Provides transportation to consumers, as scheduled by program administrator
• Uses lived experiencing with a mental illness or co-occurring disorder to assist in supporting clients in their recovery path
• Helps clients aspire to roles which emphasize their strengths by sharing their own personal story and provide mutual support, hope, reassurance and advocacy
• Provides peer support to clients regarding their symptoms and the effects of trauma and trauma history, and helping them to develop positive coping skills
• Engages clients through outreach and support
• Promotes recovery through modeling his/her own person story, self-confidence, achievements, and self-determination, and the use of natural supports
• Provides training and education to other team members on recovery-oriented care, peer support resources, psychiatric advance directives, wellness tools, trauma informed care, and the use of creativity and the arts to promote recovery
• Attends interdisciplinary team meetings
• Assists person served to complete peer-related elements of the assessment and to prepare to attend their recovery plan meeting and to express their goals and needs
• Assists clients to accomplish their life goals of living in their chosen housing and community, working, having a natural support system, and having hobbies and other leisure activities which are creative and fun.
• Helps clients and staff to develop and implement person-centered treatment plans.
• Helps individuals to create their own individual wellness plan.
• Facilitates peer recovery support groups.
• Acts as an advocate for clients to obtain needed services and public benefits and to raise complaints and suggestions about unmet needs
• Provides on-call crisis intervention services as scheduled
• Attends the treatment team of all individuals for whom s/he is providing service and any individual that has been interested in receiving peer support
• Works with individuals served to build connections that promote recovery.
• Helps the team to understand the individual’s view of the world around them and how they perceive themselves in it.
• Attends regular peer specialist training and meetings.
• Completes tasks assigned by the team leader on the daily schedule.
• In some cases, peer specialists have additional responsibilities. These responsibilities will be separately detailed.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Problem Solving: The ability to identify a problem, or to identify situations that could lead to problems, in an effort to intervene quickly and effectively. This may not involve resolving the issue alone, only recognizing the problem, and demonstrating sound judgment by gathering and analyzing information
• Critical Reasoning: Excellent observation skills and the ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions, as well as extracting themes or patterns from seemingly unrelated pieces of information
• Communication: Ability to convey complicated clinical and professional information to various audiences, in both written and oral form. Understanding the context in which information exists, and the ability to temper opinions diplomatically, all in an effort to model mature, positive, and appropriate behavior. Written communication is edited for spelling and grammar, and presents numerical and scientific data appropriately in clear, concise, and accurate manner.
• Adaptability: Quickly adapts to changes in the work environment, manages competing interests, and demonstrates the ability to deal with frequent changes, delays, or unexpected events
• Stress Tolerance: Recognizes crisis situations and reacts to such in a calm, mature, professional manner. Accepts criticism and feedback, and is able to deal calmly and effectively with high stress situations

Physical Demands and Working Conditions

Intermittent standing, sitting, walking, and driving will be encountered in this position.

This job description is not designed to over or contain a comprehensive list of activities or responsibilities that are required of the employee, and may be site-specific. Nothing in this job description restricts management’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.