Peer Counselor

Job Description

Job Description

Organization: 

Founded in 2003, AMI Housing is a California-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to enhance the lives of people with mental illness through housing, employment, and supportive services.  To house and support the most vulnerable residents of the Sierra region.

Summary of primary job functions: 

Peer Counselor positions work within the agency’s transitional and permanent supportive housing programs, providing supportive services to individuals residing within these programs.  Peer Counselors work closely with the assigned Service Coordinator for each resident to ensure individuals work on goals and toward independent housing stability. Peer Counselors oversee the day-to-day housing needs in these programs, including teaching Activities of Daily living (e.g., household cleaning chores, shopping, money management) and completing room inspections to ensure the quality of living standards are met. 

Peer Counselors utilize their own life experience and relationship skills working with multidisciplinary team members to engage, build rapport, and assist individuals in maintaining their living conditions and supporting service coordinators by helping with linkage to a wide range of services, particularly behavioral health services and supportive housing. Peer Counselors consult the teams to promote and reinforce a recovery culture where each member’s point of view and preferences are recognized, understood, respected, and integrated into services and self-help programming. Peer Counselors may need to respond to critical situations with high-level engagement and de-escalation skills, which support a least restrictive environment for individuals experiencing an emergency related to a mental health/addiction challenge.

The Peer Counselor role is differentiated from the Peer Support Specialist in that the Peer Counselor works with a dedicated group of residents residing in transitional and permanent supportive housing, addressing housing needs to assist the resident with removing barriers to obtaining permanent independent housing. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Examples of essential duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:

SAMSHA defines the essential duties of members of the peer workforce as engaging individuals in collaborative and caring relationships, providing support, sharing lived experiences of recovery, personalize peer support services, supporting the individual's recovery planning, providing linkage to resources, services, and other support and provide information/education about skills related to health, wellness, and recovery. 

Duties vary depending on the assignment: 

• Initiates contact with residents and continues to engage them throughout the recovery process and monitor their overall well-being. 
• Mentors teach residents how to perform household tasks, manage money, etc., to build desired skills and strategies for independent living. 
• Assisted with organizing, facilitating, and guiding weekly house meetings and facilitated twice-monthly groups focused on life skills and recovery. 
• Support conflict resolution when residents are experiencing interpersonal challenges in the housing 
• Assist residents in weekly meal planning and grocery shopping. 
• Conduct trips to local food banks twice per month, including pick up at the food bank, sorting of food items, and delivery to the homes.
• Deliver monthly supplies to the homes to ensure each house has needed supplies and track items required at each home, such as new coffee pots, silverware, glassware, etc.
• Conduct cleaning inspections weekly to ensure the house is clean and sanitary and residents complete assigned chores. When necessary, assist residents in proper cleaning methods. 
• Conduct twice monthly checks for bed bug covers. Ensure covers are on the beds and in good, undamaged condition.  Immediately address any infestation (bed bugs, roaches, etc.).
• Submit maintenance requests through the maintenance system to ensure house repairs are recorded. 
• Provide transportation to necessary appointments such as medical and case management-related goals. 
• Teach and monitor daily living skills to help residents develop the life skills necessary for living independently. 
• Coordinate monthly social outings for residents and safely transport them to and from activities. 
• Complete paperwork assigned in a timely manner, including all reporting, documentation, record-keeping, and all other duties as assigned. 
• Listens to peers with careful attention to the content and emotion being communicated while demonstrating genuine acceptance and respect. 
• Assisted with their receiving needs and services and coordinated with their service coordinator. 
• Utilize active listening skills to validate individuals' experiences and feelings.  
• Encourages the exploration and pursuit of community roles and assists in accomplishing goals. 
• Conveys hope to individuals about their recovery. Celebrate efforts and accomplishments. Describes personal recovery practices (personal story and ongoing personal efforts to enhance wellness and recovery) to help individuals discover recovery practices that work for them. 
• Understands their values and culture and how these may contribute to biases, judgments, and beliefs. Recognizes when to share experiences and when to listen.
• Develops and maintains up-to-date information about community resources and services.  Assist individuals with identifying and securing desired resources and services.  Accompanies individuals to community activities and appointments when requested
• Educates individuals, family members, natural support systems, and community members about health, wellness, recovery, and recovery supports
• Proposes strategies to help individuals accomplish tasks or goals and provide support to use decision-making strategies when choosing services and supports
• Help individuals manage crises by assisting them with recognizing signs of distress and threats to safety among individuals and in their environments; provide reassurance in times of distress; and assist individuals and treatment teams with creating safe spaces.
• Takes action to address distress or a crisis by using knowledge of local resources, treatment, services, and support preferences of peers
• Works together with other colleagues to enhance the provision of services and support. Coordinates efforts with health care providers, family members, and other natural supports to improve the health and wellness of individuals.   
• Advocates for the needs and desires of individuals in treatment team meetings, community services, living situations, and with family. Participates in efforts to eliminate prejudice and discrimination of people who have behavioral health conditions and their families.  Educates colleagues about the recovery process and the use of recovery support services.

Skills

• Demonstrate the ability to have a positive attitude and to work well with different personalities and different cultures.  
• Strong desire to help others through the recovery process and provide advocacy and support
• Demonstrates understanding of peers’ experiences and feelings
• Uses supervision (mentoring, reflection) effectively by monitoring self and relationships, preparing for meetings, and engaging in problem-solving strategies with the supervisor (mentor, peer)
• Reflects and examines own personal motivations, judgments, and feelings that may be activated by the peer work, recognizing signs of distress, and knowing when to seek support
• Seeks opportunities to increase knowledge and skills of peer support.
• Possesses knowledge of Confidentiality, Mandated Reporting, Recovery principles, Housing First Principles, and Tenant Rights and Responsibilities.
• Must multitask with attention to detail while working in a fast-paced and sometimes chaotic environment.
• Ability to plan, organize, and prioritize work.
• Data Entry 
• Communicate clearly and concisely through telephone, written, and electronic methods. Type/Enter data at a speed necessary to meet job duties. 

Ability to:

• Ability to work a varied schedule, including weekends, holidays, and evenings. 
• Clarifies understanding of information when in doubt of the meaning
• Time management skills and ability to work independently
• Recognizes and responds to the complexities and uniqueness of each peer’s process of recovery
• Tailors’ services and support to meet the preferences and unique needs of peers and their families
• Continuously sit at a desk and/or stand at the counter for extended periods; use the keyboard to communicate through written means; run errands; lift lightweight. 
• Continuously sit at a desk for long periods; intermittently walk, stand, bend, climb, squat, twist, and reach while retrieving or returning files or making field visits.  Intermittently twist to get equipment surrounding desk; perform simple grasping and fine manipulation; see with correctable acuity sufficient to read characters on a computer screen; hear and speak with correctable acuity enough to communicate with others. 
• Make rapid and accurate arithmetic calculations, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. 
• Understand the organization and operations of the AMIH and community partners as necessary to assume assigned responsibilities. 
• Compile and maintain extensive records and files. 
• Operate a variety of office machines/computers and software systems. 

Education/Background:  

• High School Diploma or equivalent.
• Bilingual fluency (English/Spanish) is preferred.
• Complete and pass pre-employment background checks (fingerprints, drug and alcohol testing, and criminal background checks). 

Work experience may include:

• A minimum of 2 years of lived experience receiving services from mental health providers, substance abuse providers, homeless services, or other social services.  
• Lived experience with own mental health struggles or experienced caregiving for an immediate family member experiencing mental health struggles
• Strong desire to help others through recovery advocacy and support. 
• Experience in providing case management/service coordination with individuals experiencing symptoms of mental illness, substance misuse, and/or homelessness.
• Experience working within some housing programs, such as HUD Section-Plus care, HUD Housing Choice, HUD Permanent Supportive Housing, and VASH Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing, is preferred.
• Experience working with individuals with mental illness, drug/alcohol abuse, homelessness, or other social services.

Licenses and Certification:

• Possess a valid driver's license with a clean driving record as required by the position.
• Proof of adequate vehicle insurance and medical clearance is required. 

Computer Proficiency: 

• Strong computer proficiency (i.e., Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Adobe, DocuSign, Google Docs, Internet, and Calendar) to complete daily duties within the expected timeframes with little to no supervision.  

Personal Characteristics:

• Be welcoming and supportive. Displays a solid desire to advance the agency’s mission and help people with mental illness improve their lives by becoming independent, successful community members.
• Work in a client-centered, strength-based, and harm-reduction manner. 
• Ability to work a varied schedule, including weekends, holidays, and evenings.