We Have Walked This Path Before

We Have Walked This Path BeforePresenters: Bridget Hassan, Aimee Izawa, Casey Corder

Activity

What is an Employment Peer Mentor?Employment Peer Mentors offer hope and motivation by drawing from their lived experience and their own employment experiences to encourage other individuals to seek and maintain employment, wellness, and community integration. Employment Peer Mentors can support any and all individuals enrolled in the employment program and provide the critical elements of Supported Employment and ongoing support as needed.Bridget4What qualities should you look for in a peer mentor?ConfidenceEmpathySocial SkillsReliabilityDiscretion

NC requires certification as a peer mentor. We want our Employment Peer Mentors to take and pass the CESP exam.

Bridget5Interviewing for the Employment Peer MentorQuestions that we suggest are:Tell us about yourself and the events that have shaped your character.How does the peer mentor position fit into your personal goals?How would being a peer benefit you?Have you ever had a mentor and if so, how did that person impact you?What do you think are the qualities needed to be a good peer mentor? Do you think that you have those qualities?How do you think that you will deal with the stress of being a peer?Additionally, we ask scenario questions that mirror situations that we have actually encountered such as: accessing community resources, juggling multiple priorities, maintaining documentation, meeting deadlines, etc. Casey6Employment Peer Mentor Staff TrainingWe require:Foundations of Supported Employment and RecoveryEmployment Peer MentoringFinding and Accessing Community Resources. (housing, support groups, child care, food bank, etc.)

Additional Trainings that are recommended are:Advocacy, Self-Determination, Self-DirectionAssistive Technology and Job AccommodationsBenefits Counseling, Social Security Work Incentives, SOAR (SSI-SSDI/Outreach/Access/ Recovery) Stepping Stones to Recovery TrainingBusiness and Employer RelationsCo-Occurring and IDDT (Integrated Dual Disorders Treatment) TrainingMotivational Interviewing

Casey7Employment Peer Mentor Staff Training ContinuedCulturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS), Limited English Proficiency (LEP), blind or visually impaired, and deaf and hard of hearing accommodations Financial Literacy, Budgeting/Money Management, Asset Development and Financial WellnessHousing First, Permanent Supportive Housing, Tenancy Support Training Psychiatric RehabilitationSupervising NC Certified Peer Support Specialists Training (UNC BRHP)Supported EducationTrauma-Informed careWellness Management and Recovery Interventions (such as WRAP, IMR/WMR)

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Chris is an Employment Peer Mentor working on our Employment Team. She has a knack for locating community resources to assist the people she supports. The Responsibilities of the Employment Peer Mentor are:Promoting self-determination, recovery, self-advocacy, and self-direction.Attend behavioral health integration meetings along with all other members of the team.Attending treatment team meetings with the individual. Engaging individuals in other programs and services to encourage employment;Modeling self-advocacy skills.Teaching wellness management strategies. Linking to support groups in the community. Providing education to other team members to increase their understanding of self-advocacy and peer support roles.The Responsibilities of the Employment Peer Mentor cont:Sharing his or her own personal story.Supporting individuals in making informed decisions.Building social skills in the community.Assisting the individual in overcoming barriers to employment.Exploring career and educational aspirations with the individual.Assisting in teaching skills related to job-seeking. Attending recovery support groups.Assisting with financial wellness. Changing the Culture TeamTeam Service for employment that is inclusive of the Peer, the Employment Specialist and a Team Leader. Each person supported receives services from every member of the team. All team members must be cognizant of the language used and ensure that all words are positive and person centered. Team expectations must be set up from the beginning and everyone must understand the roles of each team member.Challenging stereotypes as issues occur is important.Communication between all team members is critical to success.

Aimee12Changing the Culture Clinical StaffWe found that we had to convince our clinical staff that a peer would have positive impact on service provision. We started with explanation of each team members responsibility.We made sure that each member of the team was provided with equal opportunity to share information with clinical staff.The insight that was provided to the clinical staff by the peer and the information that the peer mentor was getting from the people supported was valuable for the clinician.

Bridget13Changing the Culture Employment StaffWe found that it was hard for employment staff to recognize that someone that they would/could be supporting as a team member with valuable skills. Dont pigeon hole your Peer! Growth is important.Contribution from each team member is valuable and leads to success you may have to encourage participation from everyone.Speak the truth no matter how difficult or uncomfortable it may be. It gets easier over time.

Casey14Break Out GroupsAs a group discuss the case study and the question that you have been assigned. Discuss your response to the question.Is there additional information that you need to answer the question?Answer the question and record the answer.Select a spokesperson for your group to report your answer.Case Study

Leia Skywalker is a single, 43 year old female. She has a daughter who is 10 years old. Leia is currently homeless and she and her daughter will sleep in her car when they cannot get a room at the shelter. Leia has a diagnosis of bipolar and hypotension. She tries to take her medications as often as possible when she has them. She has also been told in the past that she is at risk of developing diabetes. She is currently not under the care of a regular doctor or psychiatrist. Leia has a history of alcohol abuse and also reports that she used to smoke marijuana on a pretty regular basis. She has not had a drink or smoked in the past 9 months but admits that she has been thinking about drinking since she is now homeless. Leia really wants to work. She has a diploma from HS but admits that she cannot read or write as well as she thinks she should. She has always enjoyed being around animals and actually grew up on a farm and used to help take care of all the different animals they had. Her dream would be to work as a Veterinarian or in an animal hospital. She worked as a cashier at a pet store when she graduated from High School and has also worked as a groomer over the years. She was wondering if she could possibly go to school or find a job working with animals again.

Implementation Ensure that the Employment Peer Mentor and the Employment Specialist understand the similarities and the differences in their job responsibilities. Teach the job seeker how to utilize the employment peer mentor versus the employment specialist.Engage the Employment Peer Mentor with in weekly team meetings.Assist the Employment Peer Mentor with scheduling appointments and meetings during initial employment and/or ongoing as needed.

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Janet has been a certified peer mentor for many years. She started working with the employment team over a year ago. She is a well rounded employee who completes person centered plans, assessments, training, etc. She is passionate about training other peers. People that she supports tell us that she has a gentle approach to helping people make decisions.Bridget18Supporting a PeerAccommodations may be needed for the peers themselves.Sometimes discussion while supporting someone could be a trigger for the peer.Developing a mechanism to ensure that the peers needs are being met.Regularly schedule one on one meetings may be needed to address any issues.Supervisor must develop a strong supportive relationship with each peer.Peers need to be held accountable - this can be challenging.

Bridget19Issues and Problems that we encounteredMaintaining Therapeutic BoundariesDisclosure of Information to other team membersAttention of Peer away from an Employment FocusDiscussion of issues that need to be addressed may be received better when coming from the peerIdentify a good employment peer mentor match with the job seeker.Making accommodations

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Casey22Employment Peer Mentor Services How do we Pay for It?Our funding sources are:B-3 Medicaid Waiver ServicesState Funded DollarsVR does not pay for Peer Services but they pay for outcomes.

Bridget23QuestionsContact Us:Bridget Hassan Bridget.Hassan@eastersealsucp.com

Aimee Izawa Aimee.Izawa@eastersealsucp.com

Casey Corder Casey.Corder@eastersealsucp.com