High Intensity Peer Counselor (RISE Guide)

firsthand supports individuals living with SMI (serious mental illness). Our holistic approach includes a team of peer recovery specialists, benefits specialists and clinicians. Our teams focus on meeting each individual where they are and walking with them side by side as a trusted guide and partner on their journey to better health.

firsthand's team members use their lived experience to build trust with these individuals and support them in reconnecting to the healthcare they need, while minimizing inappropriate healthcare utilization. Together with our health plan partners, we are changing the way our society supports those most impacted by SMI.

We are cultivating a team of deeply passionate problem-solvers to tackle significant and complex healthcare challenges with us. This is more than a job-it's a calling. Every day, you will engage in work that resonates with purpose, gain wisdom from motivated colleagues, and thrive in an environment that celebrates continuous learning, creativity, and fun.

We named our company firsthand because we believe that lived, or "firsthand," experience is invaluable for gaining trust and building meaningful relationships. Because of that, we have many Peer Recovery Specialists that play a critical role in both outreach and long term engagement, supporting individuals living with SMI to achieve and maintain both behavioral and physical wellness. Internally, we refer to this important role as a firsthand Guide (fG). Some of our individuals will benefit from a higher intensity level of care than others, and to support those individuals, we have another Peer Recovery Specialist role: our RISE Population Guides ( RISE guides).


Our RISE Guides carry much of the same expertise as a Peer Recovery Specialist, however they will focus uniquely on supporting our individuals who need the highest level of care we provide at firsthand, often engaging and supporting them multiple times a week (or a day!). This is a role that will be performed in Community, working alongside our CORE firsthand guides, but serving a different panel of individuals than our core Community team.
As a RISE Guide, you will:

• Support a small, high-touch panel of individuals, providing comprehensive hybrid support (in-person and virtual) tailored to complex acuity levels to::
• • Provide intensive post-discharge management and transitions of care, ensuring stability post psychiatric hospitalization and supporting them, ideally with in-hospital engagement and discharge planning
  • Coordinate and support their Substance Use Disorder treatment plan, if applicable
  • Support individuals in navigating their relationship with medications, including identifying and addressing barriers to adherence and facilitating communication with their prescribing team
  • Develop a deep understanding of the individual's supports and triggers for deterioration, and be able to quickly develop safety & action planning to support them
  • Co-navigate systemic barriers alongside individuals to ensure they are able to access care, including appointments, transportation, enrollment into care services, and more
  • Actively problem solve and own to resolve social challenges, such as housing, food, transportation
  • Participate in daily huddles and regularIPRs to ensure a coordinated approach for RISE individuals
  • Potentially participate in (Post-Pilot) after-hours rotation to support individuals experiencing a crisis or urgent need outside of standard business hours.
• Maintain engagement and build a trusting relationship with their individual, supporting them with empathy and assistance with problem solving
• Support our individual, and our broader RISE care team, with ensuring our individuals avoid any sentinel, traumatic events - leading to better clinical outcomes and quality of life

RISE guides should have:

• Empathy, compassion, and approachability
• Excellent listening, communication, and interpersonal skills
• Personal knowledge of recovery and/or behavioral health
• Patience, persistence and a desire to help individuals experiencing SMI and/or SUD on their wellness journey
• Comfort working collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams, including clinicians
• Comfort or willingness to be an advocate for individuals in acute healthcare settings such as ERs and hospitals.
• Strong personal boundaries and the ability to navigate high-stress situations while maintaining a calm, grounded presence
• Demonstrated mastery with technical tools like smart phones, email, messaging services, and apps
• Openness to receiving feedback and a commitment to professional growth

The required experience you bring to this role includes:

Lived experience with SMI and/or SUD and recovery

• Two (2) years demonstrated recovery time from a mental health and/or substance abuse disorder at the date of application
• State Peer Recovery certification, or eligibility and willingness to obtain certification within six (6) months of employment
• Agreement to complete a paid training period prior to serving individuals and pass assessments to move forward.
• Interest in gaining a Community Health Worker (CHW) Credential after hire, or already holds certification
• Training or experience in de-escalation techniques (e.g., CPI, Mental Health First Aid) or a willingness to be trained in these methods

Bonus points for:

• Experience with direct in-person engagement for individuals with SMI and SUD
• Expertise in recovery education and coaching
• Understanding of whole health and trauma-informed approaches to peer support
• Familiarity with local community resources, behavioral health systems, and the criminal justice system (e.g., mental health and drug courts)
• Ability to thrive in a mobile environment, spending 80%+ of your time in the community (homes, hospitals, streets) rather than an office
• Eagerness to expand knowledge about a broad range of health conditions
• Valid driver's license in good standing, with the ability to operate a vehicle (company vehicle may be provided) and eligibility to drive under the company's insurance policy

We firmly believe that great candidates for this role may not meet 100% of the criteria listed in this posting. We encourage you to apply anyway - we look forward to begin getting to know you.

Benefits For full-time employees, our compensation package includes base, equity (or a special incentive program for clinical roles) and performance bonus potential. Our benefits include physical and mental health, dental, vision, 401(k) with a match, 16 weeks parental leave for either parent, 15 days/year vacation in your first year (this increases to 20 days/year in your second year and beyond), and a supportive and inclusive culture.

Vaccination Policy

Employment with firsthand is contingent upon attesting to medical clearance requirements, which include, but may not be limited to: evidence of vaccination for/immunity to COVID-19, Hepatitis B, Influenza, MMR, Chickenpox, Tetanus and Diphtheria. All employees of firsthand are required to receive these vaccinations on a cadence/frequency as advised by the CDC, whereas not otherwise prohibited by state law.

New hires may submit for consideration a request to be exempted from these requirements (based on a valid religious or medical reason) via forms provided by firsthand. Such requests will be subject to review and approval by the Company, and exemptions will be granted only if the Company can provide a reasonable accommodation in relation to the requested exemption. Note that approvals for reasonable accommodations are reviewed and approved on a case-by-case basis and availability of a reasonable accommodation is not guaranteed.

Unfortunately, we are not able to offer sponsorship at this time.

firsthand Health will only contact candidates from email addresses ending in @ firsthandcares.com . Any communication from another domain claiming to represent firsthand is fraudulent. We will never ask for payment or sensitive financial information during the hiring process. If you receive suspicious outreach, please do not respond.