Peer Advocate

Peer Advocate

Interested candidates should submit a resume and cover letter to mpodsiadly@mainstaylifeservices.org by 5pm on December 2, 2022. Mainstay Life Services is an Equal Opportunity Employer and committed to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.

Mainstay Life Serves, a $28M nonprofit organization providing life-long, high-quality support services ensuring that people with intellectual disabilities and autism (ID/A) lead fulfilling lives, is recruiting for an exciting opportunity to join our team as a Peer Advocate.

The Peer Advocate serves as a member of the Quality team and provides person-centered peer support services to individuals with intellectual disabilities and autism. The purpose of this role is to aid in community integration, community inclusion and employment processes. The Peer Advocate is responsible for serving as an advocate, sharing lived experiences and providing resources to aid individuals support in their journey of improving self-knowledge, self-advocacy and increased community participation. Work is performed under the close supervision of the Director of Quality.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Advocacy/Support

• Attend community meetings, conferences, networking meetings and internal meetings to provide support and information on ID/A
  Serve as an advocate to advance community integration, community inclusion and employment for individuals with intellectual disabilities and autism
• Participate as an interview panelist to evaluate the knowledge, skills and abilities of candidates
• In Collaboration with Director of Quality, create a quarterly schedule of peer-directed activities, groups and trainings to coach peers to improve self-knowledge, become self-advocates and have increased community participation
  – Support individuals in making connections and maintaining involvement within community agencies, organizations, events, and activities.
  – Promote positive relationships between individuals, direct support professionals, and neighbors, and promote individuals actively participating in neighborhood associations.
  – Supports individuals in coordinating, facilitating, and participating in support network meetings and council meetings, self-advocacy and agency-sponsored activities.
• Participate in weekly 1:1 supervision and monthly team meetings discussing and assessing opportunities for improvement

Experiential Sharing

• In collaboration with other Mainstay staff, develop and deliver trainings to a diverse population including DSPs, persons with lived experiences and community members.
• Use lived experience to assist in supporting and teaching about self-sufficiency, personal responsibility and self-advocacy

Community Relations

• Assist in preparing outreach materials to educate community members regarding people with intellectual disabilities (e.g., rights, responsibilities, dispelling myths)
• Assist in the development of promotional materials including website, newsletters, newspaper articles, brochures, videos and contacts with media
• Provide feedback on orientation and training utilized to prepare new hires for community work
• Coordinate activities which promote community inclusion for individuals served

General Office Work

• Serve as a back-up to the receptionist by answering phone calls and directing calls to appropriate staff in the absence of the receptionist
• Monitor and respond promptly to voicemail and email messages.
• Effective complete various office tasks (eg, scanning, copying, delivering mail, typing, etc).

The position requires a high school diploma, high school equivalency or a State Education Commencement Credential. This educational requirement can be waived by the agency if the person has demonstrated competencies and has relevant life experience sufficient for a peer advocate certification.