Drop In Center Recovery Support Specialist

Actively contribute as a peer support counselor to offer a community based, member driven drop-in center that offers recovery focused support, advocacy, leisure and enrichment activities to persons living with mental illness and disabilities who desire to engage fully in community life.  Drop-in staff members provide and coordinate a range of activities aimed at engaging and motivating members living independently in the Northwest Suburbs.  The drop-in center will be open at flexible times that meet member identified social, interpersonal, and educational/informational needs that improve their level of community integration, stability, and personal satisfaction.  The drop-in staff will also serve as early identifiers of risk or instability in members and be able to intervene and encourage members self-refer or take actions to refer members to more formal clinical services  

Primary Responsibilities

Program Operations

• Engage drop in members in actively using the center to increase level of community integration.
• Assist peer support supervisor to plan and implement drop-in center activities
• Responsible for facility set-up and maintenance
• Responsible for travel assistance and transportation
• Participate in Kenneth Young Center Mount Prospect Drop-in Member Advisory Council
• Provide supportive peer counseling utilizing personal experience to establish a warm and empathic connection with members and as needed, their families/significant others
• Facilitate leisure group activities
• Promote opportunities for clients to build natural systems of support within their communities through exposure to recreational, spiritual, educational, vocational, volunteer and civic activities
• Work with members to develop personal Wellness Action Recovery Plans
• Regularly consult with other Adult Team members including Community Support Team, Employment services and Psychosocial Rehabilitation, to address specific member issues and coordinate care strategies
• Work cooperatively with other Center teams/staff to maintain smooth transitions and effective continuity of care

Administrative and Performance Requirements

• Assist in training part-time Drop-in center staff
• Assist in development and maintenance of local community resources and groups (NAMI, AA etc.). Recovery literature, on-line materials/websites to support members   
• Participate in supervision as directed
• Participate in team and other agency meetings and trainings as directed by supervisor
• Interpret and communicate, at the service delivery level, Center policies and procedures

Core Competencies

• Ability to effectively engage and motivate members to participate in activities offered at Drop In
• Ability to refer clients to appropriate services and help coordinate care
• Act honestly and ethically in all member interactions
• Ability to effectively work as a member of a multidisciplinary team and encourage building of natural community support

Special Competencies

• Show awareness of issues affecting adults with chronic mental illness
• Skill in the use of motivational interviewing and engaging clients in self-directed care
• Demonstrate a working knowledge of community resources that enhance recovery
• Certified Recovery Support Specialist (CRSS) certification or (course work completed and able to obtain certification within 12 months of hire)
• If a recovering person, they must have two years of demonstrated sobriety.
• Requires significant personal experience with the mental health system as a primary consumer of services.