Peer Specialist

Description

Since our founding in 1895 in Marin County as an orphanage – and through subsequent years as Sunny Hills Services – Side by Side has been at the forefront of best practices in child welfare, working with the most vulnerable youth in our community. Today, Side by Side operates in four counties – Marin, Alameda, Sonoma, and Napa – across the Bay Area, reaching nearly2,000 children, young adults, and family members per year with much-needed services related to behavioral and mental health, early intervention in schools, LGBTQIA+ support, transitional housing for foster youth, and special education.

Side By Side places high value on individuals with a passion for helping underserved youth and families in a collaborative and inclusive work culture. We strive to work together to create a trauma-informed workplace where we walk the walk of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging principles.

This position has an hourly rate of pay of $23.00 to $26.78 based on experience and bilingual language skills.

• 3 weeks of paid vacation for F/T employees increasing to 4 weeks of vacation after 2 years of service (for all non-school based employees).
• 2 weeks of sick leave for F/T employees with 2 additional sick days for direct service staff and 4 additional for schooln
• 10 paid holidays per year and 1 Self-Care Anniversary Day each year
• 99% employer-paid Medical for F/T employees including platinum level Kaiser Permanente insurance, Sutter Health or Anthem options
• Dental and Vision Insurance
• Long Term Disability insurance up to $9,000 per month, plus $50,000 Life and AD&D insurance. Employees also have the option to purchase additional life insurance at their own cost.
• 403b Retirement Plan with matching after one year of employment
• Professional development and other learning opportunities including unlimited access to over 1,000 behavioral health courses online. Side By Side is a Public Service Loan Forgiveness certified employer
• FREE Employee Assistance Program including up to 10 complimentary personal counseling sessions per problem, per year for staff and dependents
• Employee recognition program with $500 bonus awards
• Employee referral bonus of up to $1,000
• Pet Insurance

The Our Space LGBTQIA+ Prevention Early Intervention Program is a partnership between Our Space (community center for LGBTQIA+ youth) and Alameda County Behavioral Health. The prevention early intervention program provides a continuum of services towards the prevention of LGBTQIA+ youth falling into substance use, housing displacement and destabilization.

The role of the Peer Specialist is to provide support services to LGBTQIA+ youth ages age 13 - 18 who are in San Lorenzo Unified School District (SLUSD) and Hayward Unified School District (HUSD). The Peer Specialist may, at times, serve youth younger than 13, at the discretion of their supervisor. Support services will be focused on prevention intervention services, mental health services, and life stabilization and may include weekly, individual support meetings with youth;

facilitation of a weekly support group for LGBTQIA+ youth; collaboration and case consultation with San Lorenzo Unified and Hayward Unified staff and community partners; assessment and support of clients’ needs; and referral and linkage services. This position requires a high level of independent decision making as 60 – 75% of the Peer Specialist’s time will be spent in the field providing community-based support services to youth referred to the OS Prevention Early Intervention Program.

When not in the field, the Peer Specialist will be at the Our Space Office to help provide youth drop ins and Life Skills workshops to youth. The Peer Specialist will carry a caseload of 8 youth.

A portion of this role works to raise awareness around the programming and services offered through Our Space and services specific to San Lorenzo Unified. The Peer Specialist is responsible for overseeing communications platforms, including social media, the monthly newsletter, and print materials. Additionally, the Peer Specialist will network and collaborate with SLZUSD staff and…