Peer Support Specialist

Peer Support Specialist

RecoveryWorks

Denver Metro

The mission of RecoveryWorks is to create access to opportunities for community, recovery, and resources alongside our unhoused neighbors.

The Peer Support Specialist provides relationship-centered support while helping maintain a safe, respectful, welcoming, and recovery-oriented environment during evening, overnight, weekend, and other non-traditional hours at RecoveryWorks. Drawing on lived and life experience, the Specialist builds trust through authentic connection and supports individual wellbeing and community safety. This work is grounded in mutuality, dignity, self-determination, and trauma-informed practice.

This is a peer support role rather than a clinical, case management, law-enforcement, or traditional security position. The Specialist provides non-clinical support, assists with verbal de-escalation and crisis response, connects guests with appropriate RecoveryWorks and community resources, and engages other professionals when needs fall outside the peer support role.

The Specialist also maintains awareness of the physical environment, conducts safety and facility rounds, responds to health and environmental concerns, communicates emerging needs to the broader program team, and follows established emergency and escalation procedures. This is a full-time non-exempt position that reports to Facilities and Safety Manager.

Peer Support & Community Engagement

• Build authentic, trusting relationships with guests through consistent presence, active listening, respect, and appropriate use of lived experience.
• Provide non-clinical peer support that promotes hope, self-determination, recovery, connection, and individual choice.
• Support guests during difficult evenings or periods of distress through conversation, grounding, encouragement, and connection to appropriate resources.
• Model healthy boundaries, recovery-centered values, respectful communication, and community accountability.
• Support multiple pathways to recovery and avoid prescribing a specific recovery approach to guests.
• Help guests identify needs and connect or reconnect with Case Managers, behavioral health providers, recovery supports, health care, housing resources, and other services.
• Provide warm handoffs and communicate relevant guest needs to the daytime team to strengthen continuity of care.
• Facilitate or co-facilitate informal peer activities, recovery conversations, community-building activities, or groups when assigned and appropriately trained.

Community Safety & Environment

• Maintain an active, visible, calm, and approachable presence throughout assigned shifts.
• Conduct routine interior and exterior rounds of common areas, guest sleeping areas, bathrooms, entrances, parking areas, and the property perimeter for health, safety, facility, and unauthorized-access concerns.
• Monitor entrances and common spaces, support appropriate guest and visitor flow, and follow established procedures regarding visitors and unauthorized access.
• Confirm designated building entrances, gates, and other secured areas are appropriately locked and report damage or access concerns.
• Identify and address or report environmental hazards such as spills, obstructions, trash, unsafe conditions, or facility concerns.
• Observe for signs of medical distress, breathing concerns, or possible overdose and respond according to RecoveryWorks emergency and overdose-response procedures.
• Maintain a safe and sanitary shared environment through light tidying and immediate response or reporting when conditions require additional support.

De-escalation, Crisis Response & Emergency Support

• Use trauma-informed, person-centered verbal de-escalation and relationship-based approaches to reduce conflict and support community safety.
• Respond to escalating situations within training and role scope, prioritizing personal safety, guest safety, and timely escalation.
• Administer Narcan and initiate emergency response procedures when overdose is suspected, consistent with training and organizational policy.
• Contact on-call leadership, EMS, fire, law enforcement, or other emergency responders when circumstances require professional intervention.
• Follow established safety plans, incident procedures, and escalation protocols rather than independently intervening outside the scope of the role.
• Do not use physical intervention except as specifically permitted by organizational policy, training, and applicable law.

Documentation, Communication & Team Coordination

• Complete clear, factual, timely shift documentation, incident reports, peer-service documentation, and other required records.
• Document peer services in applicable systems when required and within the scope of the position.
• Provide meaningful handoffs to Case Management, program leadership, and other appropriate staff regarding guest needs, safety concerns, incidents, and follow-up items.
• Maintain guest confidentiality and communicate only information necessary for continuity of care, safety, and organizational operations.
• Attend required team meetings, supervision, peer consultation, trainings, and other assigned meetings on time and prepared to participate.
• Communicate proactively regarding barriers, emerging concerns, schedule issues, or situations requiring additional guidance.

Other Responsibilities:

• Maintain a high level of confidentiality when interacting with budget and financial information and data.
• Support managing the on-staff accounting position to ensure financial responsibilities of the account/administrative position are being completed accurately.
• Respond respectfully and effectively to people of all cultures, classes, races, ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, and faiths or religions in a manner that recognizes, affirms, and values the worth of individuals.
• Move RECOVERYWORKS's Mission forward while upholding and incorporating RECOVERYWORKS's Core Ideology & Values.
• Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. As part of a unified team, duties may be assigned as needed to support the organization's mission and ensure the highest level of service to RecoveryWorks participants.

Peer Role Boundaries

• Peer support is non-clinical and is grounded in mutuality, lived experience, hope, choice, and self-determination.
• The Specialist does not diagnose, provide therapy, prescribe treatment, or function as a behavioral health clinician.
• The Specialist does not independently make case-management, housing, discharge, eligibility, or disciplinary decisions.
• The Specialist does not function as law enforcement or traditional security and does not use intimidation, threats, or punitive approaches to create compliance.
• The Specialist maintains appropriate professional and peer boundaries and uses lived experience intentionally rather than making the interaction about the employee's personal recovery story.
• When a situation exceeds the Specialist's training, authority, or scope, the expectation is to escalate and seek appropriate support.

Position Requirements

Participation in RECOVERYWORKS all staff in person events which may require travel.

Colorado residency and ability to relocate to Lakewood Colorado or Denver Metro area.

Provide proof of legal ability to work in the United State of America.

Provide two references upon request.

When working remotely, ability to work remotely with reliable Internet service and a reasonable remote workspace to conduct business calls.

Access to reliable transportation

Valid Driver's License, a vehicle to drive for RecoveryWorks and proof of insurance.

Valid driver's license and insurable driving record when driving a RecoveryWorks vehicle or driving on behalf of RecoveryWorks.

High school diploma or GED required.

Ability to meet applicable background-screening and employment requirements.

CPR, First Aid, and Narcan training required or must be completed within the timeframe established by RecoveryWorks.

Peer Support certification/credential required, or ability and commitment to obtain a RecoveryWorks-approved peer credential within an established timeframe following hire.

Demonstrated lived experience relevant to recovery, behavioral health, homelessness, or other systems commonly experienced by the community served, with the ability to use that experience appropriately in a professional peer role.

Demonstrated understanding of peer support principles, including mutuality, self-determination, multiple pathways to recovery, appropriate self-disclosure, and professional boundaries.

Strong verbal de-escalation, communication, problem-solving, and relationship-building skills.

Ability to work independently during evening, overnight, weekend, and other non-traditional hours while following established procedures and maintaining communication with on-call leadership.

Ability to remain calm and exercise sound judgment during conflict, crisis, overdose, medical concerns, or other high-stress situations.

Ability to maintain confidentiality and complete clear, factual written documentation.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

Commitment to person-centered, trauma-informed, recovery-oriented, and culturally responsive practice