Certified Recovery Peer Advocate

Exciting. High-energy. Rewarding. 

Outreach is seeking an experienced and extremely motivated Full Time Certified Recovery Peer Advocate to work in our Outpatient Program located in Richmond Hill, Queens. In this position, you will participate as a member of the treatment team to provide face-to-face peer services to people with substance use disorder and other behavioral health challenges and linking them to needed community resources. Using their personal lived experience this role promotes clients’ recovery, offers support, advocacy, and skill development opportunities. This is a flexible Full time -35 hrs. a week position; 3 evening shifts; may include 4 hours on Saturday in the future.

What You Will Do: 

• Represent Outreach’s CRPA program in the community. 
• Provide peer recovery support to clients by sharing life experiences, assisting clients to develop a recovery plan, linking clients with community based programs supportive of recovery. Peer services may be provided onsite or in the community. 
• Assist clients in developing a Recovery Plan 
• Maintain communication with the treatment team on behalf of clients 
• Document delivered peer services in the Electronic Health Records (EHR) 
• Attend supervision/staff meetings as appropriate 
• Accompany clients to appointments, as needed 
• Support program participants in pre-crisis or crisis situations 
• Teach participants recovery skills, based on shared life experiences 
• Help participants transition from different levels of care, as needed 
• Share information with participants about benefits, entitlements, and other supports 
• Educate external entities on Outreach’s peer services and programs 

Who You Are:  

• NYS Certified Recovery Peer Advocate (CRPA), or Provisional CRPA with volunteer or paid experience working as a Recovery Coach 
• Provisional Certified Recovery Peer Advocate with relevant experience will be considered. 
• Direct experience working as a Certified Recovery Peer Advocate 
• Previous experience working with persons with co-occurring mental health issues 
• High School Diploma/GED or higher
• Bilingual Preferred (Spanish, Polish)
• Previous experience working or volunteering experience in a recovery-oriented setting, a plus 
• Knowledge of substance use disorder recovery process through lived experience 
• Computer competent 
• Culturally competent 

At Outreach, we enjoy a strong work-life balance, excellent benefits, and ongoing professional training. Our enthusiastic employees love what they do and the positive impact they make every day. 

Our employees are the reason Outreach ranks among the most respected health and human services providers in New York City and Long Island. In fact, we have been named one of the “Best Companies to Work for in New York” a total of nine times since 2010. 

Communities throughout Queens, Brooklyn and Long Island turn to Outreach for a vast array of treatment and training needs. We customize our services to increase our access to a wide range of individuals and groups including Families, Justice System, Aspiring Professionals, EAPs/MAPs and Community Members. Outreach’s treatment services are licensed by the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) and employ best practices in line with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services’ (SAMHSA) indicators of quality treatment. 

An EEO employer, we enjoy exceptional workforce retention – many of our employees have been with Outreach for 10 years or more, some starting as part-timers and now working in full-time senior management. 

Adding to our outstanding benefits, some members of Outreach’s clinical and professional staff may be eligible for student loan forgiveness and repayment plans for persons working in public service, education, and health care, including the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program, Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Plan, or the New York State Licensed Social Worker Loan Forgiveness (LSWLF) Program. Outreach’s NYC outpatient programs are also approved for the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Substance Use Disorder Loan Repayment program, for eligible clinicians.