PT Recovery Support Specialist (Overnight Shift)

Job Description

Job Description

Part-Time Recovery Support Specialist

Location: Crystal Lake, IL
Reports To: Living Room Manager (Overnight)
Status: Part-Time, Non-Exempt (Hourly)
Schedule: 11:30 p.m.–8:00 a.m., Saturday - Sunday
Hourly Rate: $22.50 - $26.50 per hour, commensurate with experience and qualifications

About NAMI McHenry County

NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) is the nation's largest grassroots mental health organization. NAMI McHenry County provides free mental health support, education, advocacy, and community-based services to individuals and families throughout McHenry County.

Our Living Room Program is a peer-led, trauma-informed alternative to emergency rooms and psychiatric hospitalization for adults experiencing emotional distress or a mental health crisis. The Living Room will be expanding to stay open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, starting in October, and we are hiring additional recovery support specialists to support this growth. The Living Room provides immediate support in a calm, welcoming, recovery-oriented environment where individuals can find safety, connection, and hope.

Position Summary

The Recovery Support Specialist (RSS) is an individual with lived experience in mental health recovery who uses that experience to provide hope, encouragement, and peer support to adults experiencing emotional distress or a mental health crisis.

Working within NAMI McHenry County's Living Room Program, the Recovery Support Specialist provides one-on-one peer support, assists guests in developing recovery and wellness goals, helps de-escalate crises, develops collaborative safety plans, and connects guests with community resources. The RSS works as part of a multidisciplinary team to create a welcoming, trauma-informed, recovery-oriented environment where every individual is treated with dignity, respect, and compassion.

This position is ideal for someone who is passionate about peer support, believes in the power of recovery, and wants to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others.

Essential Responsibilities

Direct Peer Support

• Provide one-on-one peer support to adults experiencing emotional distress or mental health crises.
• Build trusting relationships that promote hope, empowerment, and recovery.
• Assist guests in identifying strengths, recovery goals, wellness strategies, and barriers to recovery.
• Collaborate with guests to develop individualized safety plans and next steps.
• Support guests in developing coping skills, grounding techniques, and problem-solving strategies.
• Encourage use of recovery-oriented tools and self-directed wellness practices.
• Connect guests with community resources and ongoing support.

Crisis Support

• Assist in de-escalating behavioral health crises using trauma-informed and recovery-oriented approaches.
• Observe and assess guest needs, identifying when consultation with the Living Room Manager or other professionals is appropriate.
• Collaborate with the team to ensure guests receive the appropriate level of care.
• Support caregivers and family members by providing education, encouragement, and resource navigation.

Recovery Leadership

• Utilize personal lived experience appropriately to inspire hope and normalize recovery.
• Model healthy coping strategies, self-care, resilience, and recovery principles.
• Advocate for guests while promoting dignity, autonomy, and self-determination.
• Help reduce stigma surrounding mental health through authentic peer relationships.

Documentation & Team Collaboration

• Complete timely, accurate documentation within the electronic health record.
• Maintain confidentiality and comply with agency documentation standards.
• Participate in shift huddles, debriefings, team meetings, and ongoing training.
• Collaborate effectively with Living Room staff and community partners.
• Contribute ideas that strengthen services and improve the guest experience.