TITLE: Peer Counselor - St. Francis Hospital Peer Navigation Program
JOB STATUS: Full-time (40 hours)
CLASSIFICATION: Exempt; permanent
PAY RANGE: $60,000
BENEFITS: Kaiser HMO or Blue Shield PPO medical; Principal dental, vision, life & long-term disability insurance; plus an EAP (at no employee cost); vacation, sick, and personal time accruals, and 11+ paid holidays annually; health and Dependent Care FSA, Commuter Check, and 403(b) options available
HOURS: Monday – Friday, 10am – 6pm; for all exempt positions, employees are expected to work the appropriate number of hours and times of day required to fulfill requirements satisfactorily
REPORTS TO: Clinical Peer Manager
POSITIONS START: September 1, 2021
About the Mental Health Association of San Francisco (MHASF):
MHASF is a mental health peer-run nonprofit located in downtown San Francisco 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 is dedicated to creating spaces for learning and healing around stigmatized and under-resourced areas in mental health—hoarding and cluttering behavior, peer employment support, wellness & nutrition, community-based crisis response, service navigation, and more. MHASF strongly encourages people with lived experience of mental health challenges to apply and grow with us!
OVERVIEW OF PROGRAM & POSITION:
The St. Francis Hospital Peer Navigation Program is an MHASF program funded by the Saint Francis Foundation. This program provides in-patient support (1:1 and group) to individuals on the psychiatric unit at St. Francis Memorial Hospital and peer counseling and case management support to participants discharged from the psychiatric unit and to non-hospitalized patients accessing crisis support from the hospital’s Emergency Department.
Peer Counselors serving this program provide access to resources for mental health, housing, substance use, and other key community support services in San Francisco with an overall goal of reducing and mitigating mental health crises and hospitalizations. This program connects San Francisco residents to peer support, counseling, and case management from trained individuals with lived experience of mental health conditions and recovery.
The Peer Counselor provides in-person support and resources to participants via 1:1 face-to-face, group support, phone, text, and web-based technology to patients on the St. Francis Memorial Hospital psychiatric unit and recently discharged participants from the unit or the hospital’s Emergency Department. Post-discharge support includes assisting participants with service navigation, emotional support, and up to 90-day case management, leading to a warm handoff to ongoing services by community partners.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
TOP THREE RESPONSIBILITIES
- Provide wellness-focused peer-to-peer support in 1:1 settings and group support settings on the St. Francis Memorial Hospital psychiatric unit
- Provide peer counseling and case management to previously hospitalized patients and individuals having accessed the Emergency Department for a mental health crisis.
- Serve as an advocate for program participants and a model for mental health recovery
Peer Support & Case Management
- Use personal lived experience as a mental health consumer to engage with participants, with the goal of developing trust and rapport
- 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, targeted case management, advocacy, service navigation, and other supports
- Provide on-going 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
- 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 standard
The Peer Counselor also supports broader MHASF initiatives and be 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.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- 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
- Minimum 2 years of experience as a peer counselor, peer specialist, or similar (either paid or volunteer), ideally within a nonprofit setting
- Behavioral 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 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 tele-health 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 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
DESIREABLE QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bilingual in one of the five threshold languages
- Individuals with lived experience of mental illness/psychiatric disabilities
HOW TO APPLY
- We only accept applications through our online portal: https://mentalhealthsf.formstack.com/forms/peer_counselor_st_francis_hospital_peer_navigation_program
- Applications require all the items to be considered complete; applications that do not include all three of these documents will not be considered: (MS Word or PDF format)
- An up-to-date 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.
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 neurodivergent, to apply to work with us.
MHASF is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants for employment and does not discriminate on the basis of 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.
