Peer Support Specialist

Our mission is to create pathways for recently incarcerated people to overcome reentry barriers and live fulfilling lives. We provide essential services such as clothing and IDs, case management, recovery support services, and employment services to meet immediate needs and foster long-term stability.

As a Peer Support Specialist in our Men’s Program, your personal journey with incarceration and recovery becomes a powerful tool for others on a similar path. By sharing your lived experiences, you’ll foster trust, provide guidance, and inspire hope for lasting change. Through one-on-one mentorship, support groups, and post-incarceration emergency resources, you will play an essential role in empowering others to reclaim their lives.

Journey to New Life is dedicated to supporting your growth as well; within your first month, we’ll provide Certified Peer Support (CPS) training to enhance your skills and deepen your impact. Join us in creating a community where second chances lead to renewed purpose and opportunity.

• Community Members’ Well-Being: The Peer Support Specialist will build positive mentoring relationships with community members in both the residences and main office. The foundation of this relationship is trust, which requires staff to ensure clients’ confidentiality and safety.

• Community Building: In partnership with the Peer Support Team and all staff members of JTNL, the Peer Support Specialist will actively support community building efforts by co-coordinating social events and skill building workshops.

• Peer Support Services: The Peer Support Specialist will provide individual recovery support to clients by setting a positive example, helping clients set and achieve their recovery goals, and encouraging clients to attend recovery meetings. They facilitate access to local community-based resources as needed.

• Oversee Peer Support Groups: The Peer Support Specialist will create content for groups, create the group schedule, and lead groups. They will also recruit, train, and directly supervise volunteer group leaders. They will ensure that there is at least one Peer Support Group per week in the residences and one at the main office. They will track group attendance and make that document available to other staff members for reporting purposes.

• First Stop Services: Assist clients on a walk-in basis with essential needs, build relationship upon engagement, and help client navigate immediate and/or long-term resources.

• Professionalism: The Peer Support Specialist will respond to their voicemails, texts, emails, and messages in Teams in a timely manner. When there is an issue with a client, they address it in private, showing them respect and protecting their confidentiality. The Peer Support Specialist should set healthy boundaries with community members.

• Program Evaluations: The Peer Support Specialist will conduct evaluations with the Peer Support Team. They will also create a process for collecting feedback from Peer Support Group participants. This feedback will be used to improve service delivery.

• Teamwork: This person will collaborate with House Managers, Case Managers, and the Employment Specialist to help clients achieve their goals. In order to successfully lead groups, they will partner with other staff members and community partners. It is important that they work well with others, communicate clearly, and take on a fair share of the workload.

• Personal experience with recovery required; personal experience with incarceration strongly preferred
• Commitment to the mission and values of JTNL
• Possesses strong interpersonal skills and a warm and outgoing personality
• Possesses professional maturity, good judgment, honesty, and integrity
• High school diploma or equivalency 
• Good command of the English language, including grammar and punctuation
• Professional in written and verbal communication
• Remains highly motivated and self-directed
• Interest and ability in working as part of a collaborative, cross-functional team    
• Highly organized, thorough, and detail-oriented
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications and database systems
• Has reliable transportation
• Must adhere to agency’s non-discrimination policy and be able to effectively interact with co-workers, clients, and residents with diverse backgrounds, including but not limited to religious views, political affiliation, cultural background, lifestyle, sexual orientation, and gender identification
• Personal traits: empathetic, kind, open-minded, creative, willing to learn new skills, and ready to have fun

• Health Insurance Stipend: JTNL provides a monthly health insurance stipend of up to $500. This stipend can be used to cover the costs of health, dental, and vision insurance.
• Employee Assistance Program: JTNL offers an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to provide confidential support and resources for personal and work-related issues.
• Paid Time Off: JTNL provides paid time off (PTO) to help employees balance their work and personal lives. Full-time employees are eligible for 22 days of PTO in their first three years.
• Holidays: JTNL grants employees 10 paid holidays per year, plus the week between Christmas and New Year's Day.
• Retirement Plan: JTNL partners with T. Rowe Price to help employees plan for their future with a retirement plan and aims to provide an employee match beginning in 2026.
• Life Insurance & Supplemental Insurance: JTNL provides each full-time employee with $15,000 in life insurance and $15,000 in AD&D insurance through Principal Life Insurance Company. Additionally, employees can obtain supplemental insurance, such as disability or rental insurance.