Peer Support Specialist

About Us: Bonita House, Inc. (BHI) is a nonprofit mental health agency with multiple sites in Alameda County and an operating budget of $14.5 million. Founded in 1971, BHI provides social rehabilitation including a full range of Medi-Cal services to adults with co-occurring serious mental health and substance use disorders.

Our Mission: Building community, dignity, hope and wellness through services that support recovery and self-sufficiency with people who are living with serious mental health challenges.

Our Values: Compassion: Committed to caring, dignity and kindness. Respect: Honor each individual and provide highly ethical services. Progress: Leading the way in creating opportunities to change for the better. Resilience: Channeling hope, building strengths to successfully recover, adapt and grow. Embracing Differences: Honor and celebrate our diverse communities and individual uniqueness.

Position Summary:

This position will provide outreach, engagement, and rapport building with community members that have had contact with CATT during a crisis. Through the use of their story of recovery and resource linkage, the Peer Support Specialist will instill hope and support and inspire others to embrace their recovery. Peer Support Specialist is required to maintain fidelity to Pro-Act Crisis Intervention Model, other evidence-based practices, other crisis management interventions, and the use of screening tools to help inform the decision-making process. The ideal candidate will be experienced in the field of crisis management; committed to the practices and principles of Crisis Intervention and experienced in working with a highly diverse community.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Provide follow up services within 72 hours of referral for CATT clients.

• Provide direct services to participants including outreach, engagement, and rapport building, linkage and referral to services to meet participant's immediate need, and crisis counseling.

• Utilize Critical Time Intervention, Stage-based Treatment, Motivational Interviewing, and assertive-field-based outreach to support participants in seeking mental health services.

• Accompany participants to appointments and other services engagement.

• Provide community support groups and other activities to support in the building of community.

• Provide support, role modeling, and coaching to participants in the program.

• Provide linkage and warm handoffs to long-term mental health providers.

• Collect data and provide information for reports to funders and other community partners regarding services provided and outcomes.

• Direct crisis intervention and crisis management services

• Timely documentation including consistency with Agency and Accreditation standards and billing- Medi-Cal and Medicare.

• Assists with tracking program outcome data and ensure all consumers a provided with after-care follow-up

• Basic Life Support certified within 30 days of employment (training provided by program).

• Must complete and earn Peer Support Specialist certificate through State of California within first 6 months.

• Perform other clinical duties assigned by the Director of Crisis Services

Education and Experience:

• Lived personal experience with mental illness, homelessness, and/or co-occurring disorders required.

• Minimum of 1 year relevant experience serving clients experiencing a mental health crisis

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Strong time management skills. Must be able to juggle multiple priorities at once.

• Ability to build supportive and respectful working relationships with clients.

• Ability to effectively intervene in crisis situations using de-escalation techniques.

• Must be able/willing to work outside during most of shifts, travel in vehicle with others between crises, and physically move frequently during shift.

• Ability to work with and honor a highly diverse community served, as well as team members, while showing humility and openness.

• Willingly open to learn and understand different perspectives, as well as show self-awareness around race, gender, class, sexual orientation, lived experience, and other important attributes.

• Must comply with all legal and ethical mandates including child and elder abuse reporting, HIPPA, PHI and PII.

• Must be able to meet the Immigration Reform Act of 1986 requirements.

• Must have valid California Driver's License and a driving record acceptable by the Agency's insurance company.

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. Physical demands. Must be able to lift 50 pounds.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Additional demands include:

• Occasionally: Exposure to infectious organisms and agents, exposure to toxic chemicals.

• Frequently: Physical and emotional stamina, remain in scene and present for client

• Constantly: Ability to work as a team member with staff members and other agencies, legible documentation, sensory skills to differentiate clinical findings, visual and auditory acuity

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Bonita House, Inc. is committed to providing equal opportunity to all qualified persons regardless of race, color, citizenship status, national origin, ancestry, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, age, religion, creed, physical or mental disability, marital status, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.