Certified Recovery Support Specialist, Peer Mentor

Description

Summary:

Envision Unlimited is hiring a Certified Recovery Support Specialist (Peer Support) to join the Living Room team. This role is ideal for someone in mental health recovery who wants to support others using their lived experience.

As a Peer Support Specialist, you will help adults with mental health concerns regain stability by providing recovery-oriented support, assisting in developing individualized wellness plans, and connecting people to community resources.

Essential Responsibilities, include but are not limited to:

• Use your own recovery experience to support, mentor, and empower adults with mental health concerns as they work toward their goals.
• Provide person-centered, strengths-based community support in the Living Room setting and in the community.
• Support clients in mental health crises prevention and intervention, accessing resources, and creating recovery plans.
• Assist in crisis support, safety planning, and de-escalation interventions with compassion and empathy.
• Champion client choice, self-advocacy, and recovery at every step—while maintaining accurate documentation and achieving productivity goals.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

No supervisory responsibilities.

OTHER EXPECTATIONS

• Adhere to all the Policies and Procedures of Envision Unlimited.
• At all times, maintain confidentiality according to the Illinois Mental Health code and Confidentiality Act.
• Maintain a professional attitude in conduct, and when interacting with other staff, clients, and outside personnel. Demonstrate conduct and behaviors consistent with agency mission and policies.
• At all times, maintain a professional image and role as a representative of Envision Unlimited.
• Demonstrate respect and support for all other staff.
• Respond sensitively to the diverse populations of the agency, including persons with disabilities and/or mental illness.
• Punctuality- Arrives at work, meetings, and all work-related functions on time. Report any absence, tardiness, or schedule change to supervisor as soon as possible.
• Maintain appropriate attendance record using Paylocity.
• Attend individual weekly supervision at scheduled time, having prepared questions/concerns and ready to report on progress and productivity. Seek supervision as needed.
• Attend internal and/or external training when available and approved (minimum of 15 hours/year). Attend agency meetings as required.

Employees share the responsibility of creating and maintaining a welcoming, supportive, and inclusive work environment.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and/or skills required of all employees so classified.

Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Must possess High School Diploma/GED and Certified Recovery Support Specialist credential within 1 year of employment start date.

Requires 2 years of experience within the mental health or social service field. Internships will be considered.

Must be able to use their lived mental health recovery experience to help others learn about mental illness, the process of recovery and resources within the system.

Candidate must possess a valid driver's license, licensed and insured reliable automobile, and pass a required criminal background check.

Must possess basic computer skills in excel, email and word documents.

Strong preference for people with lived experiences in the mental health systems. Knowledge of Community Mental Health, Health Care, and substance use treatment is essential. Previous experience teaching, public speaking and group facilitation is a plus.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, physical requirements may include standing, walking, and sitting; seeing; hearing and listening; clear speech; dexterity and use of hands and fingers.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The work environment described here is representative of that an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.

The noise level in the work environment is usually low to moderate. The work environment may include any or all of the following: working alone; working with others, verbal contact with others and face-to-face contact.