Volunteer with Older Adults in Sacramento County

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Older Adult Program: Volunteer Job Description

Location: Sacramento, CA

Job Title: Volunteer Peer Counselor

Mental Health America of Northern California (NorCal MHA) is a nonprofit agency dedicated to improving the lives of residents in the diverse communities of Northern California through advocacy, education, research, and culturally relevant peer support services. In all its programs, NorCal MHA works with individuals and families with mental health challenges to promote wellness and recovery, prevention, and improved access to services and supports.

Role/Purpose:

The Peer Counselor offers companionship, support, referrals, community connections and advocacy to adults 55 years and older, to whom may feel lonely, are homebound, and underserved. If you should have an interest in giving back to our community, you can make a difference by spending your time with someone in need of a friend. As a Peer Counselor, you offer clients with the following:

Companionship- client activities might include board games, going out for coffee/meal, looking at photographs and listening to the client share personal stories.

Support- assisting the client by taking them to pick up groceries from the market or stopping by the pharmacy for medications these little things can greatly impact the clients lives.

Referrals- The client may need help finding and accessing community resources such as a cleaning service, or a meal preparation service you can assist them with getting in contact with these services or contact the Program Coordinator for assistance.

Community Connections- We want our clients feel a part of the community we can do that by taking them for a walk in the park or taking them to community events (free events are always available).

Advocacy- Some clients made need someone to help them advocate, an example would be if the client’s toilet may have not have been working for weeks in this case we would help the clients advocate for themselves by contacting a landlord or a plumbing company and getting it fixed immediately. Many older adults are homebound individuals and may not know how to ask for assistance or family members may not be aware of the services provided, they even may not notice the client is in need of services; we are able to get them connected in order to meet there living needs. All these will prevent isolation, loneliness, reduce stress in order for our clients to live longer fulfilling lives.

Individuals with personal lived experience of recovery from a mental health challenge or close family members of such individuals are preferred. Bilingual candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. Familiarity with the concepts of wellness, recovery, peer support, cultural and linguistic competence, public mental health systems, and the Mental Health Services Act is highly desired for this position.

Training:

Volunteers are required to receive training prior to volunteering.

• Training includes: an overview of The Older Adult Program, HIPAA (client privacy), Adult Protective Services, and Suicide Prevention.