Peer Navigator

Description

The Youth Engagement Team (Yet) Peer Navigator is responsible for building healthy, supportive relationships with program participants and assisting Cocoon House staff with providing supportive services to all program participants. A YET Peer Navigator is someone who has experience navigating the challenges and barriers of experiencing homelessness or housing instability and is able to use that experience to help guide program participants that are having a similar experience. In this role, the Peer Navigator acts as a point of connection between other Cocoon House staff and the similarly aged program participants with whom the Peer Leader may have life experiences in common.

 Cocoon House is committed to continually growing in our equity, diversity, and inclusion journey, and candidates with lived experience or who identify as BIPOC and/or LGBTQ+ are strongly encouraged to apply! We will also provide reasonable accommodation to qualified persons with disabilities upon request.   

YET Peer Navigator Duties & Responsibilities:

 Full-Time 40 hrs/week | On-site

Wages: $21-23/hr DOE | +$1.50/hr pay differential for multi-lingual skills with additional paperwork

• Act as a unique avenue for communication with program participants, including regular check-ins.
• Assist navigators in achieving program goals and providing supportive services, including addressing chemical dependency, mental health, employment, education, financial, housing and documentation needs.
• Assist program participants in navigating the challenges associated with homelessness and their current/previous system involvement (juvenile justice, foster care, behavioral health, and McKinney-Vento). This can include providing or helping youth connect to socio-emotional support as well as offering advice on practical life skills and positive youth development.

Benefits:

•  Medical, Dental, and Vision health options with employer contribution
•  Multilingual pay stipend
•  403(b) retirement plan
•  21 days of PTO accrued in first year
•  10 agency-recognized holidays
•  Paid training & testing: CPR/first aid, food handler's permit, blood borne pathogens, abuse awareness, TB testing, and additional in-depth practical trainings

Requirements

  Skills needed to be successful in this role: 

• Lived Experience: Demonstrated first-hand experience with challenges faced by individuals experiencing homelessness, such as housing instability, financial strain, familial conflict, legal difficulties, and chemical dependency.
• System Knowledge: Familiarity with systems or programs such as juvenile justice, foster care, behavioral health, or McKinney-Vento.
• Relationship Building: Exceptional skills in building relationships, demonstrating tolerance and empathy toward individuals from diverse backgrounds and cultures.
• Professional Competency: Strong organizational skills, time management, teamwork, and adaptability, maintaining professionalism in a dynamic environment.
• Passion for Support: Genuine enthusiasm for working alongside and supporting others.
• Adaptability and Innovation: Willingness to adapt personal and organizational strategies to continuously enhance support for program participants, in alignment with Cocoon House’s mission.
• Peer Leadership: The youth served in this role are between the ages of 18 and 24. As a bona fide occupational qualification for the peer leader position, the candidate must be within the age range of 21 to 24.

General:

•   High school diploma/GED or high school equivalency
•   Must be 21 years of age or older
•   DCYF background clearance
•   Acceptable driver's abstract with no more than 2 violations within last 3 years
•   Possess a valid driver's license, auto insurance, and reliable transportation

Physical:

•   Ability to effectively communicate with all internal and external clients
•   Be able to hear voices and alarms.
•   Ability to read and comprehend a variety of materials
•   Ability to operate phone, computer, and record information for files and logs
•   Must be able to lift up to 50 Ibs
•   Must have ability to run up and down indoor and outdoor stairwells in case of youth emergency.
•   Go up and down stairs