Scholarships for Westchester Certified Peer Specialists to pursue OASAS-CRPA accreditation

In an effort to bolster peer support resources for individuals with co-occurring disorders in Westchester County, the Department of Community Mental Health (DCMH) is offering scholarship opportunities to NYS Office of Mental Health Certified Peer Specialists to obtain their NYS Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) Certified Recovery Peer Advocate (CRPA) credential. To qualify you must live in and/or work in a peer support position in Westchester; priority will be given to those working in such positions. As indicated on the application, you must already be an OMH Certified Peer Specialist to qualify for this assistance and provide documentation of your certification. Scholarships will be provided to meet State Certification application and testing fees as well as costs of the required training (full info on CRPA Certification available here).

Please see the attached scholarship application for further details on eligibility, costs covered by the scholarship, and instructions for completing and submitting your application. We anticipate offering this scholarship at least through 2023 and will be accepting applications on a “rolling” basis—applicants should feel free to submit an application at any time they might decide to pursue CRPA certification (we request that, if you have a date in mind for training, to please apply at least 30 days prior to the training registration deadline).

For those interested, The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD)/Westchester will be offering an online CRPA training in December; please check this link for further information on their training and the schedule (NOTE: the December training may not be posted until sometime shortly after this mailing). Applications for scholarships for this training can be submitted until November 14, 2022.

Peer Support Mentor Position in Mount Vernon

Peer Support Mentor Position in Mount Vernon, N.Y.

Competitive Salary, Full Time/Part Time Positions with Excellent Benefits

The Mental Health Empowerment Project, Inc. (MHEP) is a self-help and Peer Support agency organized in 1988 to develop and strengthen self-help and mutual support activities throughout the United States. MHEP currently has Peer Support positions (P/T & F/T) open in Mt. Vernon, N.Y. The F/T position will be 37.5 hours per week with benefits and the P/T position will be 20 hours per week.

Bi-Lingual candidates are encouraged to apply

Responsibilities of these positions include but are not limited to:

• Working with people in both one-to-one and group settings, facilitating peer support groups, events and activities.

• Helping people establish creative community connections and assisting them to develop natural supports.

• Establishing connections to community-based activities that enhance wellness, recovery and social engagement.

• Engaging people in one-to-one recovery planning, using tools such as Wellness recovery Action Planning; Eight Dimensions of Wellness.

• Assisting people to choose, record and achieve personal milestones.

• Offering individualized advocacy and support services to help a person learn about and protect their rights and interests.

• Organizing and coordinating wellness/recovery events and activities.

Qualifications:

To be considered for any of these positions a candidate must have direct, personal experience using mental health services, be comfortable talking about that experience and be confident modeling principles of recovery and wellness.

The ideal candidate will also:

• Be an active team member, offering support and assistance to ongoing projects.

• Be able to work independently on projects, meeting deadlines and taking initiative.

• Have basic computer skills; competence in Microsoft Office required.

• Demonstrating knowledge of job duties through follow-up and accurate record keeping is important.

• A clean NYS Driver’s License and/or reliable transportation is required.

• Candidate will have their NYS Peer certification or be in the process of obtaining certification within six (6) months of hiring. Please note that the minimum qualification for certification is a High School Diploma or GED.

MHEP is an equal opportunity employer. We actively recruit and hire qualified people who may have disabilities without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age or sexual orientation.

Please send resume and cover letter to Tanya Stevens, C.O.O., MHEP, Inc., at 3 Atrium Dr., Suite #205, Albany, N.Y. 12205, via e-mail to Tstevens@mhepinc.org or fax to (518) 434-3823.

'Hardship to Hope' Peer-Led Financial Wellness Program

NYAPRS NOTE: This announcement comes from our colleagues at the New York State Psychiatric Institute’s Center of Excellence for Cultural Competence, Columbia University Medical Center. From Hardship to Hope, a Peer-Led Financial Wellness Program funded by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, is conducting focus groups with people with lived experience of financial hardship and thoughts of suicide, from anywhere in the United States. The first pilot of the program is getting ready to begin later this fall. Your personal experience would be very helpful to the research team in developing a program that is as feasible, culturally responsive, and effective as possible. Participants will be provided $50 for their input.

Have you ever felt like giving up because of your financial difficulties?

Are you interested in sharing your experiences with a research team?

WHY: Our team at New York State Psychiatric Institute is conducting a research study to test a new financial wellness program for people experiencing financial difficulties and recent thoughts of ending their lives. This program seeks to help people improve their financial situation and feel more hopeful about their future.

WHO: We would like to get input from people with lived experience to help us develop an effective program. We are looking for people aged 18-64 who have had thoughts of ending their lives because of their financial difficulties in the last 2 years.

WHAT: If you are interested in offering your input, we invite you to participate in a 90-min focus group via HIPAA-compliant Zoom. We will ask for your opinion about the types of supports that could be most helpful. We will also ask for your feedback on program activities and resources.

COMPENSATION: $50 via PayPal.

HOW: If you are interested in participating, please fill out this form:

https://redcap.link/k2tsnxtf

Or use the QR code below (using your camera from your smart device):

A member of our study team will contact you to give you more information about the focus group. If you have any questions about this research study, please e-mail us at: fromhardshiptohope@nyspi.columbia.edu.