Peer Support Specialist - Substance Use Team

About the position This role is for a Certified Missouri Peer Specialist who will manage four sites: North County, South County, St. Louis City, and Southeast/Farmington (Farmington is virtual). The specialist will need reliable transportation to access each site and transport clients to appointments and community meetings. The position involves overseeing a caseload of up to 40-50 clients with substance use diagnoses when needed, though the current caseload is approximately 14. The specialist will assist clients in the community, connect them with substance use and recovery resources, and help them achieve a better quality of life. This role is part of a multi-disciplinary team, and the specialist will receive training in documentation using an electronic health record, and will attend weekly clinical supervision and team meetings. BJC Behavioral Health is a community health center providing and coordinating behavioral health services for adults with serious mental illness and children with serious emotional disturbances in several Missouri counties. As an Administrative Agent of the Missouri Department of Mental Health (DMH), BJC Behavioral Health is a primary entry point for DMH-funded mental health services and acts as a gatekeeper to the public mental health system.

Responsibilities

• Share lived experiences of recovery, sharing and supporting the use of recovery tools, and modeling successful recovery behaviors to help individuals with mental illness recognize their capacity for resilience.
• Help individuals who have mental illnesses and substance use disorders develop a network for information and support and to develop a sense of belonging with their communities at large.
• Assist in achieving goals and objectives set forth by the individual in their individualized treatment or recovery plan.
• Emphasize the opportunity for individuals to support each other as they move forward in their recovery.
• Start and sustain mutual support groups.
• Promote dialogues on recovery and resilience.
• Teach and model symptom management skills.
• Teach and model problem-solving skills.
• Help individuals identify what will help improve their quality of life and then identify goals and barriers to achieving a better quality of life (Rehab (CTT) Teams).
• Identify interventions on the treatment plan as other team members do (Rehab (CTT) Teams).
• Focus on recovery from both mental illness and substance use, and be familiar with ways to maintain sobriety (Integrated Dual Diagnosis Treatment (IDDT)).
• Focus on skills young adults (16 to 25) need to be independent in the community, with special attention to those skills that will impact young adults most if not attended to (Transitional Age Youth).
• Focus on acquiring and maintaining safe affordable housing (Homeless).

Requirements

• Certified Missouri Peer Specialist
• Active Certification
• Reliable transportation
• Experience as a peer support
• High School Diploma or GED
• No Experience (Minimum Requirement)
• Valid Driver's License

Nice-to-haves

• Experience with addictions, either personal or family (for IDDT focus)
• Had similar experiences and be close enough in age to be able to engage young adults (for Transitional Age Youth focus)
• Experienced homelessness at some point in life and have been successfully housed for the last two years (for Homeless focus)
• Associate's Degree
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