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A peer recovery support specialist has many job titles across the United
States and around the world. They may be called certified recovery
support practitioners, recovery advocates, peer mentors or recovery
coaches. They tend to be employed at recovery community support
centers, at hospitals, behavioral health agencies or addiction treatment
centers. The peer recovery support specialist may be working with
substance misusers, traumatic brain injury clients, behavioral health
clients or clients that identify with all of these diagnoses. Certified peer
recovery support specialists are generally employed by the facilities at
an hourly rate for their services; for the client, peer recovery support
services are typically free. In this article, I will focus on the peer
recovery support specialists working in the addiction field.
At the time, Heather was aware that there was some really powerful
heroin circulating in the Philadelphia/Camden region. Several young
people had overdosed recently, including one of Heathers sponsees.
She relayed this information to Beth, and asked Beth what she wanted
to do. Beth said she wanted to get out of her boyfriends trailer and go
into rehab. She had no job, no money and no connection with her
parents, with no possibility of financing a rehab stay. Heather and her
colleagues at the Living Proof Recovery Center jumped on the phones
to find a detox and a treatment center that would have an opening for
Beth.
Within one day, Heather had scheduled an intake appointment for Beth
at a detox hospital in New Jersey. Beth would also have a bed reserved
for her at a Christian-based treatment center in Brooklyn, NY, if she
successfully completed detox. Luckily, Heather knew of another
treatment center, also faith-based, in Chicago, with the financing
available for the treatment as well as funding for the airplane flight.
Beth was not particularly religious, but knew she needed treatment and
agreed to go to detox then to treatment in Brooklyn. Over the
weekend, Heather and Beth met together at the recovery center, called
the detox hospital and went through the intake process. The same
procedure was necessary for the Brooklyn treatment center. Heather
and Beth made those calls together. By Monday of the next week, two
days after Beth consented to go to detox, Heather had arranged for a
sober friend to drive Beth to the northern New Jersey detox hospital.
She also had arranged for the same person to drive Beth from the detox
to Brooklyn when Beth was discharged.
One week passed, and Beth was being discharged from detox.
Unfortunately, the Brooklyn treatment center did not have an
immediately available bed, but Beth was next in line for a bed as soon
as it was available, in a few days. Beth had to return to her boyfriends
trailer to wait for the call from the treatment center. Beth did not have
a phone, so it was Heather that would field the call from the treatment
center. Beth had at least three days to wait and hopefully, remain
clean. Heather pulled in all of the support she could muster. Beth had
escorts to every NA and AA meeting in the area. Members of the 12-
step community drove Beth to Suboxone maintenance appointments.
Every night, Heather and Beth talked. Every morning Heather called the
treatment center to find out if the bed was available. By Wednesday
morning, Beth and Heather were driving up the NJ Turnpike to
Brooklyn, and Beth was still clean.
The story doesnt end there, because the job of a peer recovery support
specialist is as important after the client comes out of treatment. Beth
was in Brooklyn for 28 days. While Beth was working on her sobriety,
Heather was lining up a room at an Oxford House, miles away from the
trailer and the addicted boyfriend. Within one day after being
discharged from the Brooklyn treatment center, Beth was in an Oxford
House, had a temporary sponsor and was enrolled in an intensive
outpatient program. Her parents were so proud of Beths achievements
they had paid for the first two months rent at the Oxford House.
Heather remained Beths peer recovery support specialist and required
Beth to come to the recovery center every day to volunteer. Beth
answered the phone, made copies, attended 12-step meetings, and
learned about co-occurring disorders. She participated in a resume-
writing workshop and a financial planning workshop. Beth got a job as a
waitress at a local family-style restaurant that did not serve alcohol and
for the first time she opened her own checking account. By her third
month at Oxford House, she was able to pay her own rent.