Peer Support Specialist

Pay Range: $23.55 - $27.08/hr

$1,500 Sign-On Bonus!

Schedule: Wednesday - Saturday, 7am - 5:30pm

Office Location: 8541 S State St Chicago IL 60619

Job Summary

The Peer Support Specialist provides peer-based engagement, de-escalation, and recovery support during mobile crisis encounters. Drawing on lived experience with mental health or substance use challenges, this role helps individuals feel safe, understood, and willing to participate in services. The Peer Support Specialist partners with the Crisis Counselor to support stabilization and connection to care, while the Crisis Counselor retains responsibility for clinical assessment and decision-making. Through this collaboration, the Peer Support Specialist strengthens the individual's ability to understand, accept, and engage with the identified care plan.

Primary Role During a Crisis Response

The Peer Support Specialist leads the human connection on scene so that clinical assessment can occur effectively. They reduce emotional intensity, increase cooperation, and help the individual participate in the plan that is clinically determined. This position is not responsible for determining level of care or clinical dispositions.

Core Responsibilities

• Engagement and De-escalation
  • Establish rapport and psychological safety with the individual and involved supports.
  • Apply lived experience and recovery-oriented strategies to reduce fear, resistance, or withdrawal.
  • Model grounding, coping, and emotional regulation skills during the encounter.
  • Assist the individual in expressing needs, preferences, and concerns.
  • Support voluntary participation in services whenever clinically appropriate.
• Environmental Stabilization
  • Help organize the scene to reduce chaos, overstimulation, or safety risk.
  • Assist family members, natural supports, or bystanders in understanding the situation.
  • Identify immediate practical barriers such as transportation, childcare, shelter, medication access, or communication needs.
• Support of the Clinical Assessment
  • Provide observations to the Crisis Counselor regarding the individual's behavior, communication, and readiness for services.
  • Help the individual understand what is happening and what options are available.
  • Encourage participation in the assessment process without conducting the clinical evaluation.
• Recovery and Safety Planning Support
  • Help translate the clinical plan into understandable and achievable steps.
  • Reinforce coping strategies and strengths identified during the encounter.
  • Increase the individual's commitment to follow-up services and community supports.
• Linkage and Follow-Through
  • Facilitate warm handoffs to providers, natural supports, or community resources.
  • Help the individual prepare for the next step in care.
  • Reduce barriers to attending or engaging with recommended services.
  • Assist individuals with navigating behavioral health, substance use, medical, social service, housing, and community-based resources as appropriate.
  • Support coordination and communication with referral partners, treatment providers, hospitals, law enforcement, schools, and community organizations, as directed by the Crisis Counselor.
  • Participate in follow-up outreach, engagement, and re-engagement efforts to support continuity of care and reduce future crisis utilization.
• Productivity and Direct Service
  • Maintain assigned direct service expectations and productivity standards established by the organization.
  • Participate in all assigned shifts, crisis response deployments, and follow-up activities as scheduled.
• Documentation and Compliance
  • Complete all required documentation within established timelines and in accordance with agency, grant, regulatory, and accreditation requirements.
  • Adhere to all IDHS, HFS, CESSA, CARF, CCBHC, DBHR, organizational, and program-specific requirements.
  • Participate in multidisciplinary staffing, supervision, and quality improvement activities.
  • CRSS certification is preferred; must obtain CRSS certification within organizational expectations.

 

Accreditation, Certification, and Compliance

Trilogy Behavioral Healthcare operates within a CARF-accredited environment and maintains Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) standards. All employees are expected to support compliance with:

• CARF standards
• CCBHC standards
• DBHR requirements
• HFS requirements
• CESSA r