Position Summary
The Certified Peer Specialist is a self-identified person in sustained recovery from a substance use disorder who uses their lived experience to engage, support, and mentor Freedmen's Medicine patients on their individual paths to recovery. Operating under general supervision as a member of the integrated care team, the Peer Specialist provides community-based recovery support services to three primary populations: (1) home-bound adults living with a substance use disorder; (2) patients with a history of SUD transitioning from hospitals and nursing facilities back to the community; and (3) individuals referred by community partners—including behavioral health core service agencies, opioid treatment programs, shelters, and safety-net organizations—for recovery support and linkage to treatment.
This is a field-based position. The Peer Specialist is required to work in the community and at partner locations, including patient homes, hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, opioid treatment programs, core service agencies, shelters, pharmacies, and other partner sites throughout the District of Columbia.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Recovery Engagement and Mentorship
- Serve as a mentor and consistent, trusted presence for patients engaged in the recovery process, drawing on personal lived experience of recovery through mutual respect and shared understanding.
- Conduct home visits to home-bound patients with a substance use disorder to provide recovery support, reduce isolation, and reinforce engagement in treatment, including MOUD/MAUD adherence support in coordination with the clinical team.
- Support patients in developing person-centered recovery goals, wellness plans, and relapse-prevention strategies that reflect their own choices and priorities.
- Facilitate and co-lead recovery support groups and community engagement activities that promote treatment and recovery services.
Care Transitions Support
- Meet patients with a history of SUD at the bedside in hospitals and nursing facilities prior to discharge to establish rapport and support a warm handoff to community-based care.
- Support the care team's transitional care management (TCM) workflow by accompanying and following patients from institutional settings into the community, ensuring continuity of recovery supports during the high-risk post-discharge period.
- Help transitioning patients re-establish community connections, navigate housing, benefits, transportation, and food resources, and connect with recovery community organizations and mutual-aid supports.
Community Partner Referrals and Navigation
- Receive and respond to referrals from community partners for persons with a substance use disorder; conduct outreach and engagement to connect referred individuals to Freedmen's Medicine services.
- Provide on-site peer support at partner locations on a scheduled basis, serving as the practice's recovery-support presence at those sites.
- Help patients advocate for and access treatment, harm reduction resources (including naloxone), and community resources necessary to make informed choices about their recovery.
Integrated Care Team Participation
- Participate as a member of the multidisciplinary treatment team—physicians, nurse practitioners, care managers, community health workers, and behavioral health specialists—under the supervision of a trained behavioral health professional.
- Document all encounters, outreach activities, and referral outcomes accurately and timely in the practice's electronic health record.
- Contribute the consumer and recovery perspective to case reviews, program development, and quality improvement activities.
- Conduct patient satisfaction outreach and surveys to gauge experience with services.
- Adhere to all confidentiality requirements, including HIPAA and 42 CFR Part 2, and maintain appropriate professional boundaries consistent with peer support ethics.
Required Qualifications
- Certified Peer Specialist credential issued by the DC Department of Behavioral Health (DBH), or current active enrollment in the DBH Peer Specialist Certification Training Program with certification required within six (6) months of hire. Candidates certified in another jurisdiction who qualify for DBH waiver testing will be considered.
- Self-identified person in recovery from a substance use disorder (or co-occurring mental health and substance use disorder) for two (2) years or longer, consistent with DBH certification eligibility standards.
- High school diploma or GED.
- Minimum 18 years of age.
- Willingness and ability to work in the community and at partner locations daily, including patient homes, hospitals, nursing facilities, opioid treatment programs, shelters, and other community settings across the District of Columbia.
- Ability to travel throughout the District; reliable transportation or proficiency using public transportation.
- Successful completion of criminal background check and any credentialing requirements applicable to DBH-certified providers and Medicaid/Medicare participation.
Preferred Qualifications
- Completion of the DBH-required 80-hour field practicum with a DBH-certified behavioral health provider.
- Prior experience providing peer recovery support within the DC behavioral health system, an opioid treatment program, a recovery community organization, or a care transitions program.
- Familiarity with DC's system of care, including DBH core service agencies, SUD treatment providers, harm reduction services, and housing and social service resources.
- Experience with electronic health record documentation.
- Training in overdose response and naloxone administration, motivational interviewing, or Mental Health First Aid.
Core Competencies
- Lived-experience credibility, empathy, and the ability to build trust quickly with individuals who may be ambivalent about treatment.
- Cultural humility and demonstrated effectiveness serving diverse, underserved, and medically complex populations.
- Strong engagement, communication, and de-escalation skills in home and community settings.
- Reliability, sound judgment, and the ability to work independently in the field while maintaining close coordination with the care team.
- Commitment to recovery-oriented, person-centered, trauma-informed care.
Working Conditions and Physical Requirements
- Field-based role; the majority of work occurs outside the office in patient homes, institutional settings, and partner locations throughout the District of Columbia.
- Regular local travel, including in varied weather conditions; must be able to navigate stairs and non-standard home environments.
- Occasional evening or weekend availability to support recovery groups, community events, or urgent care transitions.
Equal Opportunity Employer
Freedmen's Medicine is an equal opportunity employer. We strongly encourage applications from individuals with lived experience of recovery, returning citizens, and members of the communities we serve. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic.
Pay: $22.00 - $25.00 per hour
Work Location: In person
