Certified Recovery Peer Advocate

Reports to: Director of Substance Use Treatment Clinic

Classification: Part-Time | Non-exempt | This role is part of the bargaining unit represented by the Communication Workers of America (CWA Local 1180).

Salary & Benefits: $26.00 to $28.00 per hour. The Center offers a competitive benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, 401k with employer contribution, voluntary life, short-term, and long-term disability insurance, paid parental, family care, and gender affirming healthcare leave. We also offer a generous paid time off policy.

Schedule: Flexibility required. The typical schedule will be Sunday through Thursday. Hours will fluctuate based on client needs and group facilitation, and will include evenings and weekends on a regular basis. The Center currently operates under a hybrid work schedule and this position must be on-site at The Center on Thursdays and Sundays. This role will be scheduled to work 30 hours per week.

Summary: The Certified Recovery Peer Advocate (CRPA) will provide services as defined by NYS OASAS for the purpose of outreach for engaging an individual to consider entering treatment, reinforcing current clients' engagement in treatment and connecting clients to community based recovery supports consistent with treatment/recovery and discharge plans.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Engage with clients related to entering and attending treatment, linking them to formal recovery supports, and accompanying them to court, medical, and other appointments.
• Work with clients to identify strengths and develop recovery plans, including raising awareness of social and other supportive services.
• Provide non-clinical crisis support and educate clients about various modes of recovery.
• Facilitate recovery drop-in support groups, linking clients to services as needed. 
• Maintain documentation of peer activities and collect all information needed when engaging with clients. 
• Other duties as assigned.

Position requirements:

• Certified Recovery Peer Advocate (CRPA) or CRPA-Provisional (CRPA-P) licensure required.
• Peer leadership or outreach experience with the LGBT community and/or communities impacted by substance use. 
• Bilingual in English and Spanish is preferred.

• Ability to model professional, responsible behavior at all times.
• Excellent communication and organizational skills.
• Ability to work effectively both independently and with a team.

• Knowledge, understanding and experience working with LGBTQ+, TGNC, POC, and Immigrant populations, including knowledge of the spectrum of gender identity, transgender issues, immigration, and POC issues.
• Understanding of, and commitment to, undoing structural and institutional racism and bias and the spectrum of gender identity and bias. Thoughtful and articulate analysis of the above, and consideration of the impacts and outcomes in decision-making processes and on underserved and historically oppressed communities as it relates to The Center's work.
• A strong commitment to social justice and the mission of The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center.

The Center's Commitment to Equity & Inclusivity:

The Center was born of community activism in response to the AIDS epidemic, ensuring a place for LGBTQ people to access information, care, and support that they were not receiving elsewhere. We opened in 1983 to help people who had doors constantly closed in their faces, ostracized by family, friends, and shunned by the general society. Since that time, we have continually provided a wide array of services and programs to serve our community, with an intentional focus on providing support to those who are most vulnerable. We have always taken great care to be a space that responds to community needs; engaging in diversity, equity and inclusion work is another outgrowth of those ongoing efforts. We recognize that in order to help LGBTQ individuals and our diverse community achieve parity in health, justice, opportunity and success outcomes, our organization must hold a strong foundation and competency in, as well as invest organizational focus on, equity and inclusion frameworks, practices and policies. This is also true in our hiring and retention of staff.

The Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer.