Family Peer Support Worker

Job Purpose

The Family Peer Support Worker is an integral member of the Foundry care team and uses their own living or lived experience of supporting a youth or young adult who has experienced mental health or substance use challenges. The Family Peer Support Worker assists in the delivery of Foundry Cariboo Chilcotin operations and offers caregivers assistance with service navigation, education and resource information, while providing individualized peer-based practical, emotional and social supports. Delivering services in alignment with Foundry’s service model, the Family Peer Support Worker promotes holistic family health and well-being by fostering the development of respectful, collaborative relationships with family members, youth and service providers.

Wage: $31.61 p/hour

Duties and Responsibilities

·      Provide a safe, welcoming and supportive culture for caregivers receiving services at the Foundry centre.

·      Provide direct on-site services to caregivers by providing support, guidance and mentorship in the areas of information, navigation, education, resources and skill development, to support and engage families as expert partners in their co-developed wellness goals.

·      Model hope and share living or lived experiences and lessons learned to support caregivers in achieving individual and family health and wellness goals.

·      Facilitate meaningful engagement and participation of families in focus groups, surveys, research, evaluation and other opportunities related to peer support to further build capacity and leadership.

·      Work collaboratively as an advocate and liaison between caregiver, youth, centre staff and community partners.

·      Support caregivers’ completion of questionnaires, applications, referral forms and other administrative tasks as necessary.

·      Collaborate with Youth Peer Support Workers at the centre to optimize the youth, young adult and family experience as it relates to the delivery of services.

·      Facilitate peer support and educational groups to promote skill development and engagement, as well as foster peer-peer connection and networking opportunities.

·      Work collaboratively with Foundry centre staff and community partners to optimize relationships between families and service providers.

·      Support the development of the Foundry peer support network on a provincial level including, but not limited to, research, evaluation and quality improvement activities and participation on select provincial working groups.

·      Participate as a team member, attending team meetings, case conferences, conference calls and other organizational activities.

·      Complete and maintain related records and documentation including statistics, progress reports, care plans and referrals.

·      Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

·      Direct experience as a caregiver supporting a youth or young adult with mental health or substance use challenges and service navigation in local community.

·      Completion or eligible for completion of Foundry family peer support training, previous peer support experience and training an asset.

Skills & Abilities

·      Ability to deliver services with high degree of self-awareness, demonstrated ability to maintain confidentiality and work within personal and role-specific limits and boundaries.

·      Capacity to use one’s living or lived experience to promote positive connections with families at differing levels of engagement.

·      Strong relationship and rapport-building skills.

·      Assertive communication skills with ability to respect others’ perspectives.

·      Empathic, caring approach, with strong active listening skills.

·      Ability to understand and follow a strength-based approach for sharing challenges and co-creating solutions.

·      Ability to facilitate meetings and comfort with public speaking.

·      Broad knowledge of community resources and supports.

·      Knowledge and respect of the diversity of the BC population.

·      Demonstrated time management skills, accountability and reliability.

·      Excellent planning, organizational and coordination skills with ability to multitask.

·      Strong written and verbal communication.

·      Self-starter with a positive attitude and willingness to work flexible hours.

Working Conditions

Must be willing to work a flexible schedule.