TITLE: Bilingual Vietnamese/English Program Coordinator & Peer Support Specialist
JOB STATUS: Full-time (40 hours per week); exempt; permanent
PAY RANGE: $65,000 Annually
BENEFITS:

• 100% Employer Paid Medical: Kaiser HMO or Blue Shield PPO
• 100% Dental, vision, life & long-term disability coverage; EAP
• Over 30+ days of PTO including: 10 vacation-days (baseline), 12 sick-days, personal days, and major holidays
• Health and Dependent Care FSA, Commuter Check, and 403(b) available
• Ongoing access to MHASF continuing education and skill-building workshops—all training time paid

HOURS: 10am – 6pm, Monday – Friday
Some schedule flexibility may be required for urgent situations
REPORTS TO: Associate Director of Peer Services

About the Mental Health Association of San Francisco (MHASF):
MHASF is a mental health peer-run nonprofit located in downtown San Francisco serving people and agencies across the Bay Area since 1947. As mental health consumers ourselves, we center the lived expertise of people with mental health challenges in our advocacy, education, and support programs, and believe that dignity and recovery in mental health are something everyone can experience. Our staff is dedicated to creating spaces for learning and healing around stigmatized and under-resourced areas in mental health—hoarding and cluttering behavior, peer employment support, wellness & nutrition, community-based crisis response, service navigation, and more. MHASF strongly encourages people with lived experience of mental health challenges to apply and grow with us!

OVERVIEW OF POSITION:
When you're experiencing a mental health crisis, the presence of someone who understands what you're going through can make all the difference. In partnership with Marin County's Behavioral Health & Recovery Services (BHRS), MHASF aims to make that difference for Marin County residents. We place Peer Support Specialists with a multidisciplinary team, based in Marin County to offer compassionate, culturally sensitive support and help build a sense of trust, safety, and possibility for people at their most vulnerable.

The Bilingual (Vietnamese/English) Program Coordinator & Peer Support Specialist will provide culturally and linguistically appropriate 1:1 peer support to BHRS clients, with a portion of their time dedicated to 1:1 family/caregiver support and resource navigation for family members and caregivers of individuals experiencing SMI and/or emotional disturbances in a variety of BHRS programs. They may offer a wide array of supports to residents of Marin

County during and after mental health crises, including emotional support, short-term housing linkages, transportation, public benefits enrollment, health system navigation, service referrals, advocacy, and much more. The Bilingual (Vietnamese/English) Program Coordinator & Peer Support Specialist will hold one (1) information presentation each quarter during FY22-23 to promote the value of peer support and inform the community of the BHRS Marin Peer Support Specialist Program. They will coordinate and conduct outreach to the AAPI and Spanish speaking communities, create and distribute marketing materials to promote the program, develop a monthly schedule of peer-led support groups, and serve as a liaison among program staff.

Most importantly, they use their own lived experience of crisis and recovery to develop authentic connections and belief in the reality of hope. If you're seeking to put your lived experience to work helping others, have your own vehicle to transport clients, and enjoy work that offers variety and challenge, we would love to hear from you!

RESPONSIBILITIES:
TOP THREE RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Provide wellness-focused peer-to-peer support in a 1:1 setting for Marin County crisis-related and planned service program clients
2. Work alongside mental health clinicians in a multidisciplinary team to provide individualized resource navigation support to those in BHRS crisis-related and planned service programs, and for family members/caregivers of individuals experiencing SMI and/or emotional disturbances
3. Serve as an advocate for program participants and a model for mental health recovery

The Bilingual (Vietnamese/English) Program Coordinator & Peer Support Specialist will spend time both on-site at the BHRS office and traveling throughout Marin County to provide personalized follow-up counseling, resource navigation, and linkages to community supports to individuals, families, and caregivers in BHRS crisis-related and planned service programs. Position responsibilities will include the following:

Peer Support & Resource Navigation:

• Use personal lived experience as a mental health consumer and/or family member to engage with clients
• Serve as a role model and self-disclose lived experience background to clients as appropriate, to establish trust and demonstrate possibility of recovery
• Provide information and assist clients with access to community services and resources
• Communicate with physicians, psychiatrists, and therapists as well as other service providers
• Assist with crisis intervention, targeted case management, advocacy, service navigation, and other supports
• Provide ongoing follow-up contact to ensure clients are connected to appropriate supports, and provide additional assistance when needed
• Help ensure that services are sensitive to the cultural context and personal history of each client and the client’s support system; provide services in community-based settings
• Ensure that consumers and family members are involved to the greatest extent possible in decisions affecting services and treatment
• Promote collaboration among support systems, mental health providers, healthcare providers, justice system personnel, school personnel, and other agencies
• Outreach and engagement by developing trust and rapport by meeting clients where they are at and conducting outreach in the community to those who may be reluctant to engage with peers and clinicians

Record-Keeping, Training, & Participation:

• Attend supervision, staff meetings, trainings, and other meetings in Marin and in San Francisco
• Maintain detailed records of services provided by program staff and ensure client record confidentiality
• Ensure records contain all data necessary in reporting to the State Department of Mental Health
• Ensure records conform to Medi-Cal requirements and standards
• Provide feedback and support to Marin County BHRS and communicate with MHASF about site issues as needed
• Provide training and information to the greater Marin County community to increase knowledge of and access to mental health triage
• Other responsibilities as assigned

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Personal lived experience of mental health challenges, and a willingness to disclose to participants and during counselor trainings is a requirement for this peer position
• Proof of COVID-19 vaccine and booster (This is field-based work in Marin County)
• Ownership of vehicle, clean driving record, valid CA driver’s license, and the ability to drive throughout Marin County with project participants/clients
• Bilingual and able to read, write, and speak Vietnamese proficiently
• All Peer and Family Support Specialist staff for this program will need to be Certified as California Peer Support Specialists or gain that certification within 12 months of hire
• 2 years’ professional experience supporting people with behavioral health challenges
• Proficient computer skills, including typing and data entry
• Clear, effective written and verbal communication skills
• Behavioral health knowledge, including familiarity with psychiatric diagnoses, psychiatric symptoms and associated behavior, psychiatric medications, and substance use issues
• Self-direction, flexibility, and organization
• Ability to use independent judgment, work effectively under pressure, and function well in a team setting
• Willingness to learn from others, take feedback, and adjust communication and behavior
• Proven ability to work effectively with people of a variety of ages, backgrounds, and paths to recovery
• Commitment to upholding the mission and values of MHASF
• Preferred – Familiarity and experience with harm reduction and the mental health recovery model
• Preferred – Experience with case documentation and billing; training will be provided as needed

HOW TO APPLY
We only accept applications through our online portal:
https://mentalhealthsf.formstack.com/forms/bilingual_vietnamese_english_program_coordinator_peer_support_specialist

Applications must include the following:

• An up-to-date résumé
• A thoughtful cover letter describing your unique qualifications, interest, and vision for this role

Include these documents as attachments in either a Word or PDF format. Applications that do not include all three of these documents will not be considered.

Equal Opportunity Employment Statement

Mental health challenges can affect anyone at any time, regardless of identity or background, and consequently the communities we serve are highly diverse. As a peer-run organization, we also recognize the importance of lived experience as an irreplaceable form of expertise and as a basis for building trust and providing effective services. We welcome and strongly encourage people from historically marginalized and economically disadvantaged groups, including people who identify as disabled or neurodivergent, to apply to work with us.

MHASF is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants for employment and does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender or gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other factor not related to ability to successfully fulfill the requirements of the position.