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Department

Job Summary

The Peer Support Specialist will provide support, assistance, and advocation for individuals with substance use and mental health challenges by utilizing their own lived experiences to provide support, mentoring, and sharing of resources. The Peer Support Specialist will aid clients in building community, creating relationships, connecting with follow-up care and resources, mentoring, and setting goals and helping clients to overcome obstacles to achieving their goals. The Peer Support Specialist will build relationships with hospitals, community mental health and service providers, harm reduction organizations, supportive housing agencies, and law enforcement to educate each about the availability of treatment and to support effective linkage to services and supports.

We are seeking a candidate who offers lived experience of incarceration and reentry. The candidate must have spent a cumulative of at least 2 years incarcerated and must be at least 2 years since they were most recently released. This is an 18 month grant-funded position that is ineligible for severance pay.

Essential Functions:

• Perform outreach and engagement into local evidence-based treatment for people experiencing substance misuse and mental health challenges. Create authentic and meaningful supportive relationships with individuals with substance use and/or mental health challenges seeking treatment and understand their needs to assist them in being linked to the appropriate supportive resources. Facilitate peer recovery support services, in a group and/or individual settings. Assist participants with the creation of a personal recovery plan and/or provide resources to reduce barriers to care. Assist patients in completing any necessary paperwork. Document appropriately according to job requirements. (40%)
• Partner with treatment providers, hospitals, Emergency Departments, harm reduction organizations, support services, law enforcement, and community-based organizations to educate each about the availability of treatment and ensure effective linkage to services from the community. Participate in regular community meetings focused on addressing substance misuse and mental health challenges, as assigned by supervisor. (20%)
• Assist patients in accessing therapeutic and supportive services, promote personal growth, development, and recovery while meeting patients where they are at. Be a mentor and role model, aid in goal setting, building skills, and removing barriers to follow up care. Advocate for people in recovery while serving as a living example of someone who has previously suffered from addiction or mental health issues and desires to help others achieve and maintain recovery. (40%)

Education:

• No High School Diploma and/or No GED Required
• High School Diploma or GED Preferred

Work Experience:

• Lived experience of recovery from substance use and/or successful management of mental health challenges for a minimum of 1 year (longer period preferred). Required and
• Completion of minimum 60 hours of peer support specialist training or willingness to complete this training within 6 months of employment.
  
  Approved peer training should count towards Colorado Peer and Family Specialist (CPFS) certification, National Certified Peer Recovery Support Specialist (NCPRSS) certification, or an equivalent peer certification. Full certification not required, only training hours completed. Equivalent peer training hours must be approved by a board recognized by the International Certification & Reciprocity Consortium (IC&RC) as meeting minimum standards.
   

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Strong, effective, responsive communication skill. Excellent customer service.
• Organized and attention to details.
• Ability to summarize the positive effects personal recovery experience, and willing to share this experience in a way that would be helpful to others.
• Must honor, support and accept all pathways to recovery.
• Basic computer skills, including ability to use Microsoft Office Programs such as Outlook,
• Word and Excel and to operate a copier and scanner. Cross-cultural skills, and experience with culturally diverse populations.

Shift

Work Type

Salary

Benefits

• Outstanding benefits including up to 27 paid days off per year, immediate retirement plan employer contribution up to 9.5%, and generous medical plans

• Free RTD EcoPass (public transportation)

• On-site employee fitness center and wellness classes

• Childcare discount programs & exclusive perks on large brands, travel, and more

• Tuition reimbursement & assistance

• Education & development opportunities including career pathways and coaching

• Professional clinical advancement program & shared governance

• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) eligible employer+ free student loan coaching and assistance navigating the PSLF program 

• National Health Service Corps (NHCS) and Colorado Health Service Corps (CHSC) eligible employer

Our Values

• Respect

• Belonging

• Accountability

• Transparency

All job applicants for safety-sensitive positions must pass a pre-employment drug test, once a conditional offer of employment has been made.

Denver Health is an integrated, high-quality academic health care system considered a model for the nation that includes a Level I Trauma Center, a 555-bed acute care medical center, Denver’s 911 emergency medical response system, 10 family health centers, 19 school-based health centers, Rocky Mountain Poison & Drug Safety, a Public Health Institute, an HMO and The Denver Health Foundation.

As Colorado’s primary, and essential, safety-net institution, Denver Health is a mission-driven organization that has provided billions in uncompensated care for the uninsured. Denver Health is viewed as an Anchor Institution for the community, focusing on hiring and purchasing locally as applicable, serving as a pillar for community needs, and caring for more than 185,000 individuals and 67,000 children a year.

Located near downtown Denver, Denver Health is just minutes away from many of the cultural and recreational activities Denver has to offer.

Denver Health is an equal opportunity employer (EOE). We value the unique ideas, talents and contributions reflective of the needs of our community.

Applicants will be considered until the position is filled.

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About Denver Health

Take your career to the next level at Denver Health, where we offer a robust benefits package and endless opportunities for growth. Denver Health is a nationally-ranked, locally-trusted, premier healthcare institution located in the heart of Denver, Colorado.Twenty-five percent of all Denver residents, or approximately 150,000 individuals, receive their health care here. We are known as an integrated health care system that encompasses multidisciplinary academic specialties, a community health system, a level I adult trauma center, pediatric emergency and urgent care center home to Denver Public Health and many of the nation's leaders in medicine.Denver Health is an Equal Opportunity Employer At Denver Health we pride ourselves on our commitment to diversity. Equal opportunity is a fundamental principle of Denver Health. As an equal opportunity employer, Denver Health is committed to recruit, hire, promote and administer all human resource actions in a non-discriminatory manner. Denver Health is committed to providing equal opportunities in all business practices and to all persons regardless of age, race, color, national origin, genetic information, religion, sex, pregnancy, disab...ility, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status or veteran status (collectively “protected status”). Denver Health strives to maintain a work environment that is free from unlawful harassment and discrimination and will not tolerate any such conduct by employees or directed at employees within the scope of their employment. Read the full Human Resources Employee Principles and Practices policy.

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