C4 Innovations

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Recovery LIVE Virtual Event

Workforce Readiness: Peer Professionalism

January 27, 2022 from 2-3 pm ET

Peer support workers are taking the world by storm and find themselves in a variety of roles, positions, and organizations related to behavioral and primary healthcare needs for individuals experiencing substance and/or mental disorders and other behavioral health challenges. Although peer workers come to the role with powerful and valuable lived experience of recovery, many have not been in the workforce for some time and have not had exposure to employability skills needed to thrive in today’s competitive job environment. Others may have never participated in the workforce at all. This lack of readiness has caused some providers to avoid hiring peers at all, and many peers have been demoralized after terminations related to employability skills.

Join us as we explore workforce readiness for peer workers, why it’s a challenge, and what we can do to improve and build skills for workplace success among peer workers so they can continue to slay it!

Presenters:

  • Cheryl Gagne, C4 Innovations
  • Racquel Garcia, HardBeauty
  • Julia Mullins, Bluegrass Community Action Partnership
  • Steven Samra, C4 Innovations
Register for January 27 Event

Registration closes 60 minutes before the event start time.

Questions

If you have any questions, please email us at recoverylive@c4innovates.com.

“The presenters were amazing, and I really appreciated the interactive nature of the webinar. I appreciated that the organizer attended to as many questions as possible.” –Recovery LIVE participant

“This was a great opportunity to learn and continue to grow. The presenters were knowledgeable and motivating.” –Recovery LIVE participant

“I love the information provided and look forward to many more presentations. They are enlightening and open my eyes to things I have never thought of.”  –Recovery LIVE participant

Resources

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About this Virtual Event

Recovery LIVE happens monthly. Check back here for future topics and recordings of previous events.
Register for January 27 Event

Presenter Bios: January 27

Cheryl Gagne, ScD, Dedicated Specialist, C4 Innovations, develops and delivers training interventions to meet the learning needs of diverse groups of healthcare providers and behavioral health and public health programs in the US and abroad. She directs a training program for Massachusetts addiction professionals and serves as subject matter expert, trainer, and technical assistance provider for substance use, mental health, and recovery initiatives. She also develops skill-based curricula for providers including peer workers.
Racquel Garcia, Coach, Creator & CEO, HardBeauty, has extensive experience coaching, motivational interviewing, counseling, and various forms of treatment for ten years; becoming one of the most sought-after youth coaches in the state of Colorado and possibly the country. Racquel graduated from ICDC College in 2013 with a degree in addiction counseling. ACCSC, via Mike Rowe, awarded her the Outstanding Graduate of the Year. After college, she created Helping Everyone Recover (H.E.R.) and formed Operation P.J. H.E.R., a recovery and item-collecting non-profit. H.E.R. is now HardBeauty Foundation. Racquel graduated from YCI (Youth Coaching Institute) in July 2019 receiving her coaching and mentoring certification for youth with an emphasis on those who are considered high-risk and have suffered trauma. She works with women and men and specializes in youth ages 14-24. She and her husband Chris have been married for more than 24 years and have four children ranging from ages 10-19.
Julia Mullins, MS, Case Management Specialist, Blue Grass Community Action serving Central and Eastern Kentucky specializes in substance use recovery and housing. She obtained her master’s degree from Eastern Kentucky University in 2020, majoring in Criminology. Julia has expertise and lived experience in substance use and mental health recovery, criminal justice, harm reduction approaches, and parenting/family recovery. Julia is an advocate in her rural community for persons in recovery, specifically focusing on barriers for persons entering/reentering the workforce and experiencing homelessness or housing instability. Julia’s passions focus around promoting awareness and support for mothers and families in recovery from substance use, harm reduction, and trauma healing. She is dedicated to breaking the stigma associated with substance use and recovery and committed to helping her recovery community evolve through a person-centered lens.
Steven Samra, MPA, Senior Associate, C4 Innovations has expertise and lived experience in substance use and mental health recovery, harm reduction approaches, promotion of lived experience as critical experiential knowledge, developing and leading peer advisory councils, peer leadership, cultural competence, criminal justice, and effective outreach and engagement for challenging populations. He serves in leadership capacities for multiple recovery, substance use, mental health, peer involvement, and homelessness-focused initiative