Peer Support Worker

About this position

PEER SUPPORT WORKER

Closing Date: July 4, 2019 

Permanent, Part-time, 21 Hours per Week, Evening Hours and Weekends may be required 

Competition #: 2019-045 

Our Mission: As the nation-wide leader and champion for mental health, CMHA facilitates access to the resources people require to maintain and improve mental health and community integration, helps build resilience, and supports recovery from mental illness.

Our Organizational Values: 

• Client and Family Centered – through partnership, accountability and action
• Culturally Competent – to provide the best service and work experience
• Innovation – to bring value to our community

Team Values:           Trust, Respect, Communication and Teamwork.

Hours of work:         21 hours per week. Evening and weekend hours may be required.

Location:                  Aurora Office - York and South Simcoe Program

Job Profile:

The Peer Support Worker collaborates with consumers to provide individualized and flexible support to help engage and integrate them into the community, and help to facilitate access to resources and supports to maximize independence and potential, and promote recovery. The Peer Support Worker collaborates with clients in individual and group sessions to facilitate and support recovery for adults facing mental health challenges through empowerment and respect by providing a range of social, educational, and recreational services. The Peer Support Worker has gone through a process of recovery and has obtained peer support related training to assist others with mental health challenges to identify and achieve life goals as part of their own recovery.

The Peer Support Worker uses empowerment and Recovery-oriented approaches in individual and group settings to help combat stigma, raise self-esteem and mastery, improve self-concept, and instill hope. The Peer Support Worker will be involved in facilitating groups in the community with partner agencies such as hospitals and CMHA offices. From time to time, the Peer Support Worker may be required to handle conflicts in the Program, and intervene in crisis situations. The peer support program increases access to best practice peer led groups and assists individuals to the services and resources needed.

In addition to compliance with all organizational policies and procedures, the incumbent is also expected to behave ethically, demonstrate competence in effective communication and team building, demonstrate effectiveness in working in a collaborative environment, and demonstrate confidence in decision-making and in building relationships.

Requirements:

• Four years or more experience of the mental health system
• Personal experience in recovery from a mental health and/or addiction problem
• A second language (French, Cantonese, Mandarin, Farsi, Italian, Korean, Punjabi, Russian, Tamil, Urdu) reflecting the local community is preferred
• Peer support related training
• Ability to apply Recovery principles and empowerment-oriented philosophies and practices in work with consumers
• Ability to observe boundaries, engage in appropriate emotional regulation, refrain from dual relationships with consumers, maintain confidentiality, and engage in reasonable self-care strategies designed to reduce stress by balancing work/life responsibilities
• Knowledge of the Ontario Mental Health Act, mental health reform principles, the Substitute Decisions Act, the Health Care Consent Act and PHIPA requirements
• Extensive knowledge of supports and services in York Region, including formal and informal resources
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Ability to demonstrate computer skills, specifically Microsoft Office and Outlook
• A valid Canadian driver’s license, a minimum $1,000,000 third party liability insurance and proof that insurance covers use of personal vehicle to transport clients
• A satisfactory and current Vulnerable Sector Screening

This position reports to and is supervised by the Manager, Peer Support Program. 

Working Conditions:

Office work, community settings, meetings in clients home and travel with clients

Disclaimer: In keeping with mental health reform, best practices, funding and direction this position may later require knowledge, skills, abilities and working conditions not noted here. 

Why work for CMHA York Region? 

As the Canadian Non-Profit Employer of Choice for three consecutive years and one of Canada’s 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures, we offer:

1. Competitive Benefits
2. Excellent learning & development opportunities (internal conferences, external trainings)
3. Diverse & Inclusive work culture
4. Flexible work environment

We are team committed to our vision of mentally healthy people in a healthy society. That means we respect that our clients are the experts in their recovery journey and our role is to provide support, resources and opportunities based on their hopes and dreams.  It means that we foster and encourage an entrepreneurial spirit to create, implement and sustain innovative, evidence based and transformational impact.  We seek out and build partnerships, collaborate and share knowledge to be the most culturally competent team and fully integrated service delivery partner.

Our team cares for each other.  We have our own team values of trust, respect, teamwork and communication.  We hold ourselves accountable and we celebrate our wins.  Because we risk, we learn and we take the opportunity and time to constantly improve our skills, the way we function as a team and ultimately deliver services.  

Join us and be part of providing great care in great communities!

Application Procedures

If you are interested in this opportunity, please follow the link on this posting or visit the Career section of our website. Complete the application form and submit cover letter and resume (PDF or Word) together as one (1) document / attachment in the Resume section, outlining how your experience matches our requirements, to the Human Resources Department quoting Competition # 2019-045.

CMHA, York Region Branch supports the recovery of people with mental illness and promotes diversity in the workplace. We welcome persons with lived experience, women, aboriginal people, people with disabilities, and members of the 2SLGBTTQ+, visible minority and immigrant communities to apply.

To request this posting in an alternate format or to request accommodation in the application process, email AODA@cmha-yr.on.ca

Online: www.cmha-yr.on.ca, under CAREERS section.

While we thank all candidates for their interest, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.