Responsibilities

Pathways Center provides peer support services in several programs throughout the organization. This specific program is based out of Pathways Center’s Care Campus, which contains 2 Crisis Stabilization Units - 1 for adults 18+ and 1 for children & adolescents, ages 5-17 in Newnan, Georgia. Youth peer support is a strength-based rehabilitative service provided to youth/young adults that is expected to increase the youth/family’s capacity to function within their home, school, and community while promoting recovery. Services are rendered by a CPS-Y (Certified Peer Support-Youth) who is performing the service within the scope of their knowledge, lived experience, and education of mental health conditions or substance abuse issues. This service exists within a system of care framework and enables timely response to the needs of the youth and all family members incorporating formal and informal supports and developing realistic intervention strategies that complement the youth’s natural environment.

The Certified Peer Specialist promotes family/youth recovery. While the identified youth is the target for services, recovery is approached as a family journey towards self-management and developing the concept of wellness and functioning while actively managing a chronic behavioral health condition, which enables the youth to be supported in wellness within his/her family unit. Youth are supported by the CPS-Y by participating in individual and group sessions focused on learning to live life beyond the identified behavioral health condition. As part of this service, the CPS-Y articulates points in their own recovery stories that are relevant to the obstacles faced by the youth/young adult. Responsibilities will include but not be limited to the following:

□ Facilitates peer support group sessions with youth/young adults in a clinic setting and/or home based setting

□ Assists youth/young adults in gaining skills to promote the recovery process (self-advocacy, developing natural supports, etc.)

□ Provide ongoing emotional support, modeling and mentoring during various phases of the service/support planning process

□ Help youth/young adults better understand choices offered by service providers

□ Assist youth/young adults with the acquisition of the skills and knowledge necessary to sustain an awareness of their needs as well as his/her strengths

□ Support, model, and coach youth/young adults to help with their level of engagement in all health-related processes

□ Cultivate the youth/young adult’s ability to make informed, independent choices which will include others who have been through similar experiences

□ Assist the youth/young adult in understanding the various system processes and how these relate to the recovery process and their valued role

□ Assist the youth/young adult in understanding what a behavioral health diagnosis means and what a journey to recover may look like

□ Assist the youth/young adult in understanding the role of prescribed services and medication in diminishing/managing the symptoms of the condition while increasing resilience and functioning in living with the condition

□ Identify the importance of self-care, addressing the need to maintain family whole health and wellness in order to ultimately support the youth

□ Document client progress and interventions in the electronic health record system within established time frame for quality of care and billing purposes

Certified Peer Specialists work from the perspective of their lived experience to help build environments conducive to recovery. They promote hope, personal responsibility, empowerment, education, and self-determination in the communities where they serve. CPSs are trained to assist others in skill-building, problem-solving, setting up and maintaining self-help mutual support groups, and building self-directed recovery tools. A critical role of the CPS is supporting others in developing their recovery goals, and specific steps to reach those goals.

Minimum Qualifications

Qualified candidates must be 18-26 years of age (valid Georgia ID) and have a diagnosed mental health condition, substance use disorder, or a co-occurring diagnosis and a strong desire to identify themselves as a person living with a mental illness or substance use diagnosis; must be well grounded in recovery wellness and be able to share own personal story in a safe and appropriate way; have a high school diploma or GED; willing to provide 30-40 hours per week of direct youth/young adult peer support services.

Also, must be willing to become CPS certified within 6 months of hiring, which includes 5 days of training and passing the Youth CPS Exam.