POSITION TITLE: Peer Support Specialist – Our Trans Home San Francisco
POSITION TYPE: Full-Time (40 hours); Exempt; Permanent
PAY RANGE: $28.85 hourly ($60,000 annually)
REPORTS TO: Director of Peer Services

HOURS:

• Hours: 10am - 6pm
• Days: Monday to Friday; some weekends; flexibility is required

BENEFITS:

• 100% Employer Paid Medical: Kaiser HMO or Blue Shield PPO
• 100% Dental, vision, life & long-term disability coverage; EAP
• Over 30+ days of PTO including: 10 vacation-days (baseline), sick-days, personal days, and major holidays
• Health and Dependent Care FSA, Commuter Check, and 403(b) options available
• Ongoing access to MHASF continuing education and skill-building workshops— all training time paid
• Excellent opportunity for advancement—over 70% of our staff have been promoted internally at least once!

ABOUT THE MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION OF SAN FRANCISCO (MHASF):

MHASF is a mental health peer-run nonprofit located in downtown San Francisco and serving people and agencies across the Bay Area since 1947. As mental health consumers ourselves, we center the lived expertise of people with mental health challenges in our advocacy, education, and support programs, and believe that dignity and recovery in mental health are something everyone can experience. Our staff are dedicated to creating spaces for learning and healing around stigmatized and under-resourced areas in mental health—hoarding and cluttering behavior; post-hospitalization peer support; mental health and nutrition; peer mental health workforce development, and much more.

OVERVIEW OF POSITION:

In partnership with the Our Trans Home San Francisco, this peer-counseling project, through MHASF’s Department of Peer Services and funded by the Saint Francis Foundation, provides access to resources for mental health, housing, substance use support, and other key community support services in San Francisco City & County with an overall goal of reducing and mitigating mental health crises, homelessness, hospitalizations, and incarceration. This project connects San Francisco residents from the Trans and Gender Queer communities to peer support and counseling from trained individuals with lived experience of mental health conditions, substance use, and recovery.

This project’s Peer Support Specialist is part of the service care teams of the Our Trans Home San Francisco, serving individuals from the Trans and Gender Queer communities with the goal of improving both short-term and long-term mental health outcomes. The MHASF Peer Support Specialist and Our Trans Home San Francisco staff will collaborate and develop support, treatment, and community transition plans for program participants to meet the program’s target population. Peer Support Specialists use their own lived experience of mental health and substance use recovery to develop authentic connections and belief in the reality of hope.

If you're seeking to put your lived experience to work helping others and enjoy work that offers variety and challenge, we would love to hear from you!

TOP 3 RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Provide wellness-focused peer-to-peer support in 1:1 settings and group support settings

2. Provide peer counseling and case management to individuals living with mental health challenges and substance use challenges, with a special emphasis on the Trans and Gender Queer communities

3. Serve as an advocate for program participants and a model for mental health recovery

GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

Peer Support & Case Management

• Use personal lived experience as a mental health consumer to engage with participants
• Serve as a role model and self-disclose lived experience background to participants as appropriate to establish trust and demonstrate the possibility of recovery
• Provide information and assist participants with access to community services and resources
• Communicate with physicians, psychiatrists, and therapists as well as other service providers as needed
• Assist with crisis intervention and provide targeted case management, advocacy, service navigation, and other supports
• Provide ongoing follow-up contact to ensure participants are connected to appropriate supports and provide additional assistance when needed
• Help ensure that services are sensitive to the cultural context and personal history of each participant and their support system; provide services in community-based settings
• Ensure that participants and family members are involved to the greatest extent possible in decisions affecting services and treatment
• Promote collaboration among support systems, mental health providers, healthcare providers, justice system personnel, school personnel, and other agencies
• Provide group support, in-person and via Zoom, to program participants
• Accompany and advocate for participants at their appointments, providing emotional support

Record-Keeping, Training, & Participation

• Attend supervision, staff meetings, and trainings at both MHASF and the Our Trans Home San Francisco
• Maintain detailed records of services provided and ensure participant record confidentiality
• Ensure records contain all data necessary in reporting to the State Department of Mental Health
• Ensure records conform to Medi-Cal and HIPAA requirements and standards

The Peer Support Specialist also supports broader MHASF initiatives and is responsible for other duties as assigned. The above job responsibilities are meant to be representative, not a comprehensive job description, and are subject to change depending on the needs of the program and MHASF.

As job descriptions cannot be exhaustive, the above list of responsibilities is intended to provide a general overview of duties to be assigned and in no way is a comprehensive list of position duties and responsibilities.

POSITION QUALIFICATIONS & SKILLS:

• Personal lived experience of mental health challenges and a willingness to disclose to participants, and during counselor trainings is a requirement for this peer position
• Proof of COVID-19 vaccine. (The position is field-based work in San Francisco County)
• High-level of understanding of issues facing the Trans and Gender Queer communities
• The Peer Support Specialist staff for this program will need to be Certified as California Peer Support Specialists or gain that certification within 12 months of hire
• Minimum 2 years of experience as a peer counselor, peer specialist, or similar (either paid or volunteer), ideally within a nonprofit setting
• Health knowledge, including familiarity with psychiatric diagnoses, psychiatric symptoms and associated behavior, psychiatric medications, and substance use issues
• Ability to respond effectively to conflicts and strong emotions; crisis support or call center background is very helpful for this role
• Familiarity with community resources in San Francisco
• Experience maintaining the confidentiality of sensitive information & understanding of confidentiality practices
• Familiarity with the mental health recovery movement, peer support model, & local resources
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, use of telehealth platforms such as Zoom, and data entry
• High level of organization and time management with an ability to focus and prioritize in stressful situations
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to write effective case notes
• Highly collaborative work style and ability to work effectively within a team to identify and accomplish goals
• Ability to problem-solve with little to no guidance and to exercise independent judgment under stress
• Willingness to learn from others, take feedback, and make adjustments to communication and behavior
• Experience taking the initiative to self-educate about unfamiliar subjects or concepts
• Affirmative and accepting approach toward people whose needs and experiences differ from your own
• Commitment to upholding the mission and values of MHASF

SUCCESSFUL ATTITUDES & WORK APPROACHES:

• Highly organized and resourceful, attention to detail, ability to multi-task and manage time well to accomplish all essential tasks and deadlines
• Willingness to learn and support others, take and provide constructive feedback, and adjust communication and behavior
• Affirmative and accepting towards people from diverse backgrounds and experiences
• Experience taking the initiative to self-educate about unfamiliar subjects or concepts

Bilingual/Bi-cultural individuals are strongly encouraged to apply.

HOW TO APPLY:

We only accept applications through our online portal:

https://mentalhealthsf.formstack.com/forms/peersupportspecialistothsf

Applications require all the items to be considered complete; applications that do not include both of these documents will not be considered: (MS Word or PDF format)

• A current résumé
• A thoughtful cover letter describing your unique qualifications for and interest in this role

We endeavor to maintain an accessible and transparent application process. We will confirm receipt of all complete applications and will strive to notify applicants of the status of their application as soon as possible. No phone calls about this position, please.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYMENT STATEMENT:

Mental health challenges can affect anyone at any time, regardless of identity or background, and consequently the communities we serve are highly diverse. As a peer-run organization, we also recognize the importance of lived experience as an irreplaceable form of expertise and as a basis for building trust and providing effective services. We welcome and strongly encourage people from historically marginalized and economically disadvantaged groups, including people who identify as disabled or neuro-divergent, to apply to work with us.

MHASF is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants for employment and does not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender or gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other factor not related to ability to successfully fulfill the requirements of the position.