Bilingual Peer Recovery Specialist (PTCEP)

Service Area: Housing & Justice Related Services (HJRS)

Program: Philadelphia Treatment Court Enhancement Project (PTCEP)

Role Type: This is a full-time position with a comprehensive benefits package.

Job Overview:

PHMC’s Forensic Services department is looking for a full-time Bilingual Peer Recovery Specialist (Spanish/English) to provide peer support to Philadelphia Treatment Court Enhancement Project participants. The PTCEP Peer Recovery Specialist will service high clinical need individuals at a high risk for criminal recidivism, with an average caseload of 35 participants. Peer Recovery Specialists will operate as members of the Project Team and will provide services to participants with opioid use disorders or mental health concerns. The Peer Recovery Specialist will work in collaboration with the Case Manager to provide a diverse array of recovery services, including but not limited to: substance abuse treatment; psychiatric evaluation; mental health counseling; education; employment and vocational services; family involvement; medical assistance application; and housing coordination support.

Travel: Local travel to treatment programs, recovery houses, court, worksites, and program sites

Work Hours:

• Typical hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Flexibility is required to support participants during evening and weekend hours
• On-call responsibility on a rotational basis

Responsibilities:

• Provide regular face-to-face meetings and phone contacts with participants to identify strengths and challenges to support recovery.
• Identify community linkages to support recovery efforts, including job readiness, educational, vocational, medical, mental, housing, and family support.
• Provide additional support to participants who find court and/or treatment compliance challenging.
• Provide new participants with initial outreach and orientation to the program.
• Provide outreach to participants at treatment facilities and in the community (recovery houses, homes, workplaces) to support engagement throughout participation in Treatment Court.
• Attend case management team meetings.
• Accompany individuals to appointments as needed to model interaction and provide support.
• Engage Treatment Court participants by sharing personal story of recovery.
• May attend recovery plan meetings with participant and assigned case manager
• Assist participants in recovery in areas such as self-esteem enhancement, conflict resolution, assertiveness, and other recovery skills.
• Meet participants at community-based appointments such as self-help meetings (AA, NA), physician appointments, food pantry, etc.
• Alert the case management unit to any current or potential behavioral or health-related problems of participants.
• Complete Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) assessments along with all other PHMC required assessments.
• Provide comprehensive wellness support to participants, which includes routine primary care and mental health services (as needed).

Skills:

• Good people skills
• Knowledge of behavioral health and social services network in Philadelphia County
• Ability to work as a team member to provide comprehensive and supportive services to individuals
• Ability to document service provision within an online database
• Ability to communicate utilizing a recovery-based problem-solving approach and past experiences to support a recovery lifestyle
• Ability to establish trusting and therapeutic relationships
• Knowledge of services and resources to support individuals in reentry
• Commitment to recovery, choice, empowerment, and the ability of people with co-occurring disorders to find meaningful lives in the community

Qualifications:

• Must be bilingual in Spanish and English
• High school diploma or GED required
• Must have lived experience in the area of substance abuse
• Must have lived experience with the criminal justice system
• Preferred: Lived experience with mental health concerns
• Must be a Certified Recovery Specialist (CRS) or Certified Peer Specialist (CPS) at time of hire or within the first 90 days of employment
• 1-2 years of experience collaborating with individuals with substance use and/or mental health disorders

PHMC is an Equal Opportunity and E-Verify Employer.