Peer Support Specialist - FHARPS

Lives Change Here! We are GROWING… Columbia River Mental Health Services provides comprehensive behavioral health and recovery services that transform the lives of children, adults and families in the communities of SW Washington. We are the largest and oldest not-for-profit provider of mental/chemical dependency treatment in southwest Washington with 200 employees and a history dating back to 1942.

Our Mission: Providing behavioral health and recovery services that transform the lives of children, adults, and families in the communities of SW Washington.

Why Work Here?

CRMHS offers AMAZING benefits aside from health and wellness (medical/dental/vision etc.) Work life balance benefits: 11 total paid holidays per year, including 2 paid floating holidays available upon hire, 24 days of PTO days in the first year and only increases from there! Career development: $325 annual allowance for career development and education with an additional 40 hours of paid time off for career development/education! And so many More!

Starting Pay Range - $22.50 - $24.24 /hr

Summary :

To promote socialization, recovery, self-advocacy, development of natural supports, and maintenance of community living skills for individuals as well as groups in a Housing First Program.

Essential Job Responsibilities :

• Engage with client to give supportive counseling
• Assess needs of a client with consumers participating
• Coordinate the client with community involvement
• Connecting with natural supports. Development of supports
• Assist client to tailor goals for daily well being
• Provide community living skills along with connecting with community
• Facilitate groups
• Implementation of peer support services
• Provide transportation to clients

• Lead peer support and program orientation groups in conjunction with other team members.
• Establish and maintain effective communication with participants
• Ability to empathize with the participants’ situation as a vehicle for emotional
• support and to encourage their participation in the treatment process

• Engage consumers through their own recovery journey.
• Bring the consumers perspective to meetings and etc.
• Assist individuals to navigate services and systems based on their own experiences.
• Use that navigation as a vehicle to discuss recovery.
• Work with Trueblood population to develop housing goals
• Develop Relationships with private landlords, property management, ect.
• Work within Housing Development
• Maintain communication and cooperative working relationships both within the agency and community at large.
• Attend staff and planning meetings as scheduled.
• Other duties as assigned by Supervisor.

Minimum Qualifications:

• High school diploma
• Certification specializing in WA State Peer Support
• Ability to obtain Jail Access

Skills and Abilities

• Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to engage individuals experiencing serious mental illness, substance use disorders, homelessness, and criminal legal system involvement.
• Strong customer service orientation with a commitment to person-centered, recovery-focused care.
• Ability to establish and maintain collaborative relationships with clients, families, healthcare providers, housing providers, criminal justice partners, and community organizations.
• Demonstrated assessment, critical thinking, de-escalation, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work independently in community settings while maintaining effective communication with the treatment team.
• Strong organizational skills, time management abilities, and attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a community-based behavioral health environment.
• Flexible, adaptive, and responsive to changing client and program needs.

Physical Requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job, with or without reasonable accommodation:

• Ability to stand, walk, bend, and remain active for extended periods during community outreach and client visits.
• Ability to drive and travel frequently throughout the service area.
• Ability to lift and carry up to 25 pounds occasionally.
• Manual dexterity sufficient to operate medical equipment, collect specimens, administer injections, and utilize computer systems.
• Ability to safely navigate community-based environments, including housing sites, shelters, hospitals, and correctional facilities.
• Work environment includes office, clinical, and community settings with potential exposure to infectious materials and behavioral health crises.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

CRMHS is committed to building an equitable and inclusive workplace where people from all backgrounds belong and thrive, and a culture that encourages, supports, celebrates and centers the diverse voices of our employees & clients. We believe that diversity is multivariate and includes race, ethnicity, gender & gender identity, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, citizenship, national origin, familial status, genetics, religious beliefs, socioeconomic class, physical status, neurodiversity and parental status.