Peer Support Specialist

at  COTA Health

OTHER REQUIREMENTS AND WORKING CONDITIONS

• Conduct visits in the service recipient’s homes, hostels, hospitals and other community settings, as applicable.
• Must have access to vehicle. (Please note that access to a vehicle means owning, borrowing, renting the vehicle. Alternatively, using ride services, such as, Uber, cab, and taxies at no cost to Cota).

ROLE OVERVIEW

The Peer Support Specialist works collaboratively with the team. The Peer Support Specialist provides recovery-oriented services consistent with Cota’s Mission, Vision and Values.
About the Team
ARCS is a hospital diversion program in partnership with North York General Hospital and Humber River Health. The objective of this program is to reduce emergency department visits, by providing short term, community based case management services to individuals that had recently visited the emergency department for mental health and/or addiction matters.
The ARCS team is interdisciplinary, consisting of Mental Health Case Managers, Addictions Specialist Case Managers, a Peer Support Specialist, and an Intake Case Manager.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide recovery oriented support through lived experience of mental health and/or addiction challenges.
• Work collaboratively with individuals and the team to support recovery and goal plans.
• Teach, coach and provide assertive outreach to individuals.
• Support individuals to live independently in the community as they consider and determine their own unique goals and objectives.
• Provide recovery-oriented and/or harm reduction based services in a manner consistent with Cota’s Mission, Vision and Values.
• Facilitate various groups: WRAP, social recreational, educational and/or life skills groups.
• Provide informal counselling, emotional support, group support services, linkage with community resources, and instruction in life skills to service recipients.
• Assist and support service recipients with household management, personal care, routine daily living activities, social recreation, employment and vocational goals.
• Provide lived experience to program development and implementation and build collaborative working relationships with members of the multi-disciplinary team and community agencies as applicable.
• Promote independence through teaching, emotional support, coaching, and mentoring.
• Document interactions that meet Cota’s documentation requirements.
• Attends Peer Support Community of Practice (CoP) meetings with other Peer Support Specialists and contributes in a constructive and supportive manner.
• Undertakes other related and/or delegated duties as may be assigned/required.