About Job

Organization:

Founded in 2003, AMI Housing is a California-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to enhance the lives of people with mental illness through housing, employment, and supportive services. To house and support the most vulnerable residents of the Sierra region.

Job Summary:

Peer Counselor positions work within the agency’s transitional and permanent supportive housing programs, providing supportive services to individuals residing within these programs. Peer Counselors work closely with the assigned Service Coordinator for each resident to ensure individuals work on goals and toward independent housing stability. Peer Counselors oversee the day-to-day housing needs in these programs, including teaching Activities of Daily living (e.g., household cleaning chores, shopping, money management) and completing room inspections to ensure the quality of living standards are met.

Peer Counselors utilize their own life experience and relationship skills working with multidisciplinary team members to engage, build rapport, and assist individuals in maintaining their living conditions and supporting service coordinators by helping with linkage to a wide range of services, particularly behavioral health services and supportive housing. Peer Counselors consult the teams to promote and reinforce a recovery culture where each member’s point of view and preferences are recognized, understood, respected, and integrated into services and self-help programming. Peer Counselors may need to respond to critical situations with high-level engagement and de-escalation skills, which support a least restrictive environment for individuals experiencing an emergency related to a mental health/addiction challenge.

Job Responsibilities:

Initiates contact with residents and continues to engage them throughout the recovery process and monitor their overall well-being.
Mentors teach residents how to perform household tasks, manage money, etc., to build desired skills and strategies for independent living.
Assist with organizing, facilitating, and guiding weekly house meetings and facilitated twice-monthly groups focused on life skills and recovery.
Support conflict resolution when residents are experiencing interpersonal challenges in the housing
Assist residents in weekly meal planning and grocery shopping.
Conduct trips to local food banks twice per month, including pick up at the food bank, sorting of food items, and delivery to the homes.
Deliver monthly supplies to the homes to ensure each house has needed supplies and track items required at each home, such as new coffee pots, silverware, glassware, etc.
Conduct cleaning inspections weekly to ensure the house is clean and sanitary and residents complete assigned chores. When necessary, assist residents in proper cleaning methods.
Conduct twice monthly checks for bed bug covers. Ensure covers are on the beds and in good, undamaged condition. Immediately address any infestation (bed bugs, roaches, etc.).
Submit maintenance requests through the maintenance system to ensure house repairs are recorded.
Provide transportation to necessary appointments such as medical and case management-related goals.
Teach and monitor daily living skills to help residents develop the life skills necessary for living independently.
Coordinate monthly social outings for residents and safely transport them to and from activities.
Complete paperwork assigned in a timely manner, including all reporting, documentation, record-keeping, and all other duties as assigned.
Listen to peers with careful attention to the content and emotion being communicated while demonstrating genuine acceptance and respect.
Assist with their receiving needs and services and coordinated with their service coordinator.
Develop and maintains up-to-date information about community resources and services. Assist individuals with identifying and securing desired resources and services. Accompanies individuals to community activities and appointments when requested.
Educate individuals, family members, natural support systems, and community members about health, wellness, recovery, and recovery supports
Propose strategies to help individuals accomplish tasks or goals and provide support to use decision-making strategies when choosing services and supports
Help individuals manage crises by assisting them with recognizing signs of distress and threats to safety among individuals and in their environments; provide reassurance in times of distress; and assist individuals and treatment teams with creating safe spaces.
Takes action to address distress or a crisis by using knowledge of local resources, treatment, services, and support preferences of peers
Works together with other colleagues to enhance the provision of services and support. Coordinates efforts with health care providers, family members, and other natural supports to improve the health and wellness of individuals.
Describe personal recovery practices (personal story and ongoing personal efforts to enhance wellness and recovery) to help individuals discover recovery practices that work for them.
Utilize active listening skills to validate individuals' experiences and feelings.
Encourage the exploration and pursuit of community roles and assists in accomplishing goals.
Convey hope to individuals about their recovery. Celebrate efforts and accomplishments. Understand their values and culture and how these may contribute to biases, judgments, and beliefs.
Advocate for the needs and desires of individuals in treatment team meetings, community services, living situations, and with family. Participates in efforts to eliminate prejudice and discrimination of people who have behavioral health conditions and their families. Educates colleagues about the recovery process and the use of recovery support services.

Skills:

Demonstrate the ability to have a positive attitude and to work well with different personalities and different cultures.
Strong desire to help others through the recovery process and provide advocacy and support
Demonstrate understanding of peers’ experiences and feelings
Uses supervision (mentoring, reflection) effectively by monitoring self and relationships, preparing for meetings, and engaging in problem-solving strategies with the supervisor (mentor, peer)
Reflect and examine own personal motivations, judgments, and feelings that may be activated by the peer work, recognizing signs of distress, and knowing when to seek support
Seek opportunities to increase knowledge and skills of peer support.
Possess knowledge of Confidentiality, Mandated Reporting, Recovery principles, Housing First Principles, and Tenant Rights and Responsibilities.
Must multitask with attention to detail while working in a fast-paced and sometimes chaotic environment.
Ability to plan, organize, and prioritize work. Time management skills and ability to work independently
Data Entry
Communicate clearly and concisely through telephone, written, and electronic methods. Type/Enter data at a speed necessary to meet job duties.

Ability to:

Clarify understanding of information when in doubt of the meaning.
Recognize and respond to the complexities and uniqueness of each peer’s process of recovery
Tailor services and support to meet the preferences and unique needs of peers and their families
Recognize when to share experiences and when to listen. Recognize and respond to the complexities and uniqueness of each peer’s process of recovery
Continuously sit at a desk and/or stand at the counter for extended periods; use the keyboard to communicate through written means; run errands; lift lightweight.
Continuously sit at a desk for long periods; intermittently walk, stand, bend, climb, squat, twist, and reach while retrieving or returning files or making field visits. Intermittently twist to get equipment surrounding desk; perform simple grasping and fine manipulation; see with correctable acuity sufficient to read characters on a computer screen; hear and speak with correctable acuity enough to communicate with others.

Qualifications:

Education/Background

High School Diploma or equivalent is required.
Complete and pass pre-employment background checks (fingerprints, drug and alcohol testing, and criminal background checks).
Possess a valid driver's license with a clean driving record and reliable transportation is required.

Work Experience:

A minimum of 2 years of lived experience receiving services from mental health providers, substance abuse providers, homeless services, or other social services.
Lived experience with own mental health struggles or experienced caregiving for an immediate family member experiencing mental health struggles
Strong desire to help others through recovery advocacy and support.
Experience in providing case management/service coordination with individuals experiencing symptoms of mental illness, substance misuse, and/or homelessness.
Experience working within some housing programs, such as HUD Section-Plus care, HUD Housing Choice, HUD Permanent Supportive Housing, and VASH Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing, is preferred.
Experience working with individuals with mental illness, drug/alcohol abuse, homelessness, or other social services.

Computer Proficiency:

Adequate computer proficiency (i.e., Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Adobe, DocuSign, Google Docs, Internet, and Calendar).
Type/Enter data at a speed necessary to meet job duties.

AMIH is an equal opportunity and drug free employer.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $20.00 - $22.00 per hour

Expected hours: 40 per week

Benefits: