Fact Peer Specialist

Benefits/PerksFull Time positions offer a comprehensive benefits package.
Part Time positions offer a partial benefits package.
Company Overview
Mental Health Resource Center is a not-for-profit Florida corporation that provides a wide range of mental health and behavioral health care services to the community such as 24-hour emergency services, inpatient psychiatric services for children, adolescents, and adults as well as outpatient services such as medication management, case management, and counseling.
Job Summary
The FACT Program is a multi-disciplinary, clinical team which assumes responsibility for directly providing needed treatment, rehabilitation and support services to adult persons with severe and persistent mental illness promoting recovery, empowerment, self-determination and decision-making for each FACT participant.
The FACT Peer Specialist has personal, practical knowledge and experiences as a recipient of mental health services and is willing to share these for the benefit of the team and the persons served by the FACT team. Provides needed peer counseling, wellness recovery, and support services to individuals served by the FACT Program in order to reduce or eliminate the need for hospitalization and to enhance their independence, autonomy and quality of life. Promotes recovery, empowerment, self-determination and decision-making for each FACT participant.
Some of the responsibilities of the FACT team include providing clinical and supportive services through advocacy, crisis intervention, assessments, evaluations, treatment planning, case management and medication management. Participants are also provided with community referrals, symptom education, work-related vocational and educational services, social and interpersonal relationship training, and support for the participants' families and care givers.
Most of a FACT team member's day is spent in the community completing many of the above duties. Only about 15% of their time is spent in the office. Company vehicles are available, however members of the FACT team also need to use their personal vehicles to provide services.
The FACT team operates beyond normal business hours, rotates holiday and weekend responsibilities, and rotates an emergency on-call cell phone.
The Mental Health Resource Center manages 9 out of the 32 FACT programs in the state of Florida: Rockledge/Brevard, Tampa, Naples, Clearwater, Kissimmee, Winter Haven, Gainesville and two teams in Jacksonville.
Responsibilities

• Assist persons in the development of their own plans of growth and development. i.e. utilizing the Wellness Recovery Action Planning (WRAP).
• Provides peer counseling, wellness recovery, and support services as assigned.
• Provides direct services to persons served by the program on an individual, group and family basis.
• Participates in daily organizational meetings.
• Advocates for persons served by the program to ensure acquisition of necessary social services to include activities of daily living, including medical, dental, legal, housing, and entitlements and monitors and evaluates the effectiveness of the service and the person's satisfaction.
• Actively identify and support linkages to community resources and trainings: educational, vocational, social, cultural, mutual self- help groups, etc., that supports the person's chosen goals and interests.
• Provides side-by-side assistance to persons served in all aspects of daily living (i.e., assist with housekeeping, budgeting, grocery shopping, etc.).
• Provides services to increase an individual's social and interpersonal activities (i.e. supportive therapy, social skills development, side-by-side coaching, planning social/leisure time activities, trauma informed care).
• Monitors and documents an individual's progress upon each visit and where necessary, updates or reassesses the recovery plan in order to better assist the person served to accomplish their recovery goals. Identify individuals and their family's needs, and communicate those that are identified and their needs to the program director and provide written referrals for community resources.
• Assist individuals served to develop problem-solving skills so that they can respond to challenges that may arise in their recovery process.
• Assist individuals in organizing their time to keep appointments as well as other scheduled contacts with specific services providers.
• Promote the development of self-efficacy through role-modeling strength-based recovery.

Qualifications

• In order to be considered candidates must have a high school diploma or equivalent and must have previous personal experience as a recipient of mental health services is required.
• Experience working with persons with severe and persistent mental illness preferred.
• Obtain, or work towards obtaining, certification as a Peer Specialist within one year of employment.
• Strong communication skills are essential and this individual must be able to interact appropriately with internal and external customers, including families, caregivers, community service providers, supervisory staff and other department professionals.
• Each FACT team member contributes to the completeness and confidentiality of clinical records by ensuring documentation, paperwork and system entries meet internal and external guidelines for content, accuracy and timeliness.
• Each member of the FACT team must meet MHRC/RBHS vehicle driver requirements, to include a valid Florida Driver's License, automobile insurance coverage equaling $200,000 and no more than eight points on their license for any combination of violations.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office Programs, email, and the use of the Internet is required.

Position DetailsFull time or Part time Shifts Available: Monday through Friday (rotating weekends, on-call, and holidays)
Thank you for your interest in joining the team at Mental Health Resource Center and Renaissance Behavioral Health Systems. We offer a variety of opportunities in the behavioral health and social services fields. We have locations in Jacksonville and throughout Florida. Employees work together and support one another in a friendly, team-oriented atmosphere that encourages professional growth. We offer an ideal workplace for individuals dedicated to providing care and services that reflect our core values of compassion, integrity, and excellence.
Mental Health Resource Center (MHRC) is a Florida nonprofit that provides a wide range of behavioral health and social services to the community. Included in MHRC's service array are 24-hour emergency services; inpatient psychiatric services for children, adolescents and adults; and numerous outpatient services, including psychiatric evaluations, medication management, counseling, psychosocial rehabilitation, state hospital liaison services, forensic services, in-jail services, a co-responder program, a therapeutic family program, and eight Florida Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) programs for adults with severe and persistent mental illness located in Clearwater, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Kissimmee, Rockledge, Tampa, and Winter Haven.
Renaissance Behavioral Health Systems and Mental Health Resource Center encourage all applicants to take advantage of opportunities for hire, and if internal applicants, transfers, promotions, and advancement, regardless of their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, handicap, disability, marital status, national origin, veteran status, or genetic information. RBHS and MHRC are Equal Opportunity Employers and Drug Free Workplaces.