Job Description

About Casa Esperanza

Casa Esperanza, Inc. is a bilingual/bicultural behavioral health treatment provider serving Boston and the Merrimack Valley. Our mission is to empower individuals and families to recover from addiction, trauma, mental illness, and other chronic medical conditions; overcome homelessness and discrimination; and achieve health and wellness through comprehensive, integrated care.

About the role

Casa Esperanza seeks a dynamic, energetic individual who is passionate about delivering recovery and wellness-oriented community-based case management and care coordination for people living with addiction, mental health and cooccurring disorders as part of our Casa Community Support Program.

The Casa Community Support Program (CSP) addresses the health-related social needs of individuals living with substance use and co-occurring behavioral health disorders, to help them thrive and live successfully in the community. Peer Recovery Coaching delivers support to individuals from peers with similar experiences to gain hope, explore recovery, and achieve life goals. It is a non-clinical and non-medical service; however, the Peer Recovery Coach also works with the Multi-Disciplinary Team to provide support for individuals as part of our integrated care model which includes primary care, mental health, and addiction treatment.

The Peer Recovery Coach must be able to initiate and complete work independently to fulfill the responsibilities of the job and work collaboratively with all members of the care team. While the expectations of the Coach are different than clinical and medical staff, their contributions are equally valuable. With a career at Casa, you will be joining a vibrant team of dedicated and talented people. While there may be opportunities for occasional work from home, this is primarily an in-person, community-based role that requires travel, providing transportation for patients, and in office time.

Essential Functions:

Service Delivery

• Deliver services in 1) linguistically appropriate and culturally competent manner that embraces the diversity of people's identities including racial, ethnic, gender/gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, and disability including intellectual disability, 2) an integrated manner that meets the needs of individuals with co-occurring substance use disorder and mental health conditions, honoring their chosen recovery pathway, and 3) a person-centered and strength-based manner.
• When appropriate, develop a recovery or wellness plan with the client that supports that individual in their chosen pathway of recovery, and reflects each client’s unique strengths (including community and family strengths), needs, abilities, preferences, motivation and readiness. Share that plan with other members of the client’s care team as relevant.
• Provide emotional and social support, with the goal of making positive life changes and developing the client’s skills to facilitate their recovery. Support may include motivational interviewing and other evidence-based practices that facilitate the client’s growth.
• Share their own recovery experience and use coaching and mentoring techniques to support a client’s awareness of the strengths and skills that they possess (recovery capital) that can help sustain recovery.
• Serve as a role model, a mentor and an example of the possibilities of recovery by acting in an open and transparent way
• Support the client to make positive life changes and develop skills supportive of their recovery, including but not limited to:
• • Creating links to treatment,
  • Trying new strategies for developing recovery-supportive friendships and reconnecting or improving family relationships, and
  • Identifying and using recovery community networks such as peer recovery support services, peer-reinforced groups, and mutual aid.
• Assume primary peer coaching responsibilities for clients after intake and maintain a caseload of 22 individuals.
• Using their peer relationship, assist with motivation and facilitate connections to SUD and mental health treatment, primary and specialty medical treatment, recovery support services, supported employment and/or vocational and education services, benefits programs, housing supports, and HIV services at Casa Esperanza and at other agencies in the community.
• Act as a recovery liaison by either supporting the client in preparing for or accompanying the client to meetings with, for example, probation officers, social workers, and child protection/child welfare workers.
• Serve as an advocate for the client within healthcare, social services and other relevant systems and assist Members in learning self-advocacy skills.
• Provide one-to-one client orientation to support client attainment of the goals in the Wellness Plan.
• Support connections with Reentry and Housing Case Managers, as appropriate, to access those case managements services.
• Work closely with Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) to support clients through all aspects of care planning, including assessments, transition and discharge planning to engage, retain and monitor clients in care.
• May provide temporary assistance with transportation to essential appointments while transitioning to community-based transportation resources.
• Must deliver services in community in any setting that is safe for both the Coach and client, including but not limited to the client’s home, an inpatient or diversionary unit, a day program, a self-help meeting, or Recovery Support Center.
• Conduct intensive outreach efforts to reengage or maintain engagement with clients, including:
• • At least one in person meeting when services begin to develop initial goals (which may include a wellness plan)
  • At least one instance of direct contact (including phone, in-person, text or video telehealth) per client over a 21-day period.
• Work closely with the Patient Access and Practice Management teams to coordinate enrolling, authorization, and reauthorization for clients engaging in Peer Coaching services.
• Flexing duties and responsibilities in team-based care involves sharing patient-care responsibilities among members of a team, leading to improved efficiency, access, quality of care, and satisfaction for all involved.

Administrative & Quality Assurance

• If using a wellness plan, obtain consent from client before including this plan in Evolv and sharing with other care providers.
• All subsequent client encounters and other data (including initial in-person visits and weekly contacts) must also be maintained in Casa’s electronic health record, Evolv.
• Ensure all data collection and reporting requirements are completed within the time frames specified in the Peer Recovery Coach Agreement.
• Attend bi-weekly supervision.
• Write and submit all reporting as required by payors, regulators, and Casa’s internal Practice Management and Quality teams, in a timely manner.
• Attend all relevant case conferences and staff meetings including but not limited to Multi-Disciplinary Team, Community Support Program/Recovery Support Services, and Office Based Addiction Treatment.

Experience Required:

• Bilingual Spanish/English required
• A least a high school diploma or a GED, except in cases where a reasonable exception can be made.
• Have either a Certified Addiction Recovery Coach (CARC) certification or is working to obtain, through either Massachusetts Board of Substance Abuse Counselor Certification, or through another certification or credentialing process as specified by EOHHS. TO be considered working toward a CARC, the Peer Recovery Coach must:
• • Have completed Peer Recovery Coach Academy trainings and the Ethical Considerations for Recovery Coaches training; and
  • Be on track to complete the required 500 hours of supervised patient facing work experience specific to the domains: advocacy; mentoring/education; recovery/wellness support; and ethical responsibility within the past ten (10) years as paid or volunteer staff.
• Knowledge of SUD and mental health treatment, the recovery process and resources, supported employment and/or vocational and education services, housing supports, and HIV services
• Experience doing outreach and engagement with individuals with a history of or at risk for justice involvement, HIV, addiction, mental illness, trauma and violence
• Must be willing and able to share their path to recovery and their lived experience of recovery
• Able to work weekends and evenings, as needed
• Familiar with social, health and cultural issues specific to the Latine population
• Ability to work as a team member and independently
• Understanding of harm reduction principles and techniques
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Strong interpersonal skills and crisis management skills
• Be in good standing with their board of professional licensure, as applicable.
• Computer skills, minimum Microsoft Word

Schedule

“This position is a full-time role (up to 40 hours per week) with scheduling that falls within our outpatient clinic hours of operation

• Monday–Thursday: 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM
• Friday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
• Every other Saturday: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM

We are seeking candidates who are flexible within this timeframe to support program and client needs. While schedules are coordinated collaboratively, team members can expect:

• One evening shift from 12:00 PM – 8:00 PM
• One additional late shift, scheduled as 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM or 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM, based on program needs
• Participation in a rotating Saturday schedule (availability for Saturdays is required)

All schedules are designed to remain within a standard full-time workload (no more than 40 hours per week) Initial flexibility is important as we work to align individual availability with team coverage needs.”

What we offer:

Casa Esperanza Benefits Package:

• Compensation: Salary Range $20 -$22 per Hour
• Holiday Pay (12 days per year + 1 floating holiday)
• Paid Time Off (PTO) - 18 days year one, 20.5 days at year 2, 23 days at year 5
• Sick Pay - 10 paid days per year
• Long / Short Term Disability
• Paid by Company Life Insurance
• Health Insurance (Medical Dental, Vison)
• Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA)
• FSA/DCA (Flexible Spending Account & Dependent Care)
• ComPsych Guidance Resources - EAP
• Educational Opportunities
• Tuition Remission
• Employee Ticket at Work (Discounts for Entertainment, travel, movies; etc.)
• Career Advancement Opportunities
• Increased Salary for Credentials
• and more....

Physical & Mental Requirements

While performing the duties of this job the employee is regularly required to walk, stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl and talk or hear. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include distance vision, peripheral vision, and depth perception.

At Casa Esperanza, Inc., the health and safety of our people is our number one priority. That’s why all offers of employment are contingent on the candidate showing proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID 19 (currently one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine or two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine and boosted, when eligible) to pass the pre-employment requirements. Individuals with medical issues or religious beliefs that prevent them from getting the vaccine may request an exemption from the vaccine requirement.

Casa Esperanza’s EEO Statement

Casa Esperanza, Inc. values its diverse workplace and encourages women, people of color, LGBTQIA+ individuals, people with disabilities, members of ethnic minorities, foreign-born residents, older members of society, and others from minority groups and diverse backgrounds to apply.

We recruit, hire, employ, train, promote, and compensate individuals based on job-related qualifications and abilities. Casa Esperanza, Inc also has a longstanding policy of providing a work environment that respects the dignity and worth of each individual and is free from all forms of employment discrimination, including harassment, because of race, color, sex, gender, age, religion or religious creed, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. All employees, interns, volunteers and contractors of Casa Esperanza, Inc. are responsible for maintaining a work culture free from discrimination and harassment by treating others with kindness and respect.

Casa Esperanza, Inc. also provides reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities or based on a sincerely held religious belief, in accordance with applicable laws. If you need to inquire about an accommodation, or need assistance with completing the application process, please email hr@casaesperanza.org