AmeriCorps Peer Mentor Individuals with Disabilities

Ameri Corps Peer Mentor – Individuals with Disabilities Part-Time Ameri Corps Member | Charleston, WV Appalachian Center for Independent Living (ACIL)

is seeking a part-time Ameri Corps Member to serve as a Peer Mentor for Individuals with Disabilities. This position is an opportunity for someone who understands the importance of peer connection and wants to help individuals with disabilities build confidence, develop skills, connect with their community, and pursue greater independence.

The Peer Mentor will work alongside ACIL staff and consumers to support ACIL’s Pathways Peer Support Program, helping individuals with disabilities connect with others who have shared experiences, interests, and goals.

Since 1982, the Appalachian Center for Independent Living (ACIL) has helped individuals with disabilities live independently and participate fully in their communities.

ACIL provides the five core Independent Living services of Information & Referral, Independent Living Skills Training, Peer Support, Individual and Systems Advocacy, and Youth and Adult Independent Living Transition Services, along with Veterans Directed Care, Community Living Services and Supports, transportation, employment and educational support, and community outreach.

ACIL believes that individuals with disabilities should have the opportunity to make their own choices, direct their own lives, and participate fully in their communities.

At ACIL, peer support is based on the belief that people with disabilities can learn from, encourage, and support one another through shared experiences.

A peer mentor does not provide counseling, personal care, or case management. Instead, the member serves as a peer, encourager, connector, and role model, helping participants recognize their own strengths and make choices about the direction of their lives.

The member will use ACIL’s Independent Living philosophy by promoting:

• Consumer choice
• Self-determination
• Self-advocacy
• Independence
• Community inclusion
• Peer connection
• Equal opportunity

The Peer Mentor will:

• Provide encouragement, support, and positive peer connection to individuals with disabilities.
• Help facilitate peer support groups, social activities, educational programs, and community activities.
• Help individuals identify personal interests, goals, strengths, and opportunities for greater community participation.
• Encourage self-advocacy, self-determination, and independent living.
• Share personal experiences, resources, and strategies when appropriate to help others navigate life with a disability.
• Help create a welcoming and inclusive environment where participants feel comfortable sharing their experiences and learning from one another.
• Assist with outreach to individuals who may benefit from ACIL’s Peer Support Program.
• Help connect participants with ACIL’s Independent Living services and other community resources.
• Encourage participants to develop relationships and support networks beyond ACIL.
• Assist with planning and coordinating peer support activities and community outings.
• Collect participant feedback and assist ACIL in evaluating peer support activities.
• Maintain appropriate documentation of service activities and participation as required by Ameri Corps and ACIL.

We are looking for someone who is compassionate, dependable, a good listener, and comfortable building relationships with people from diverse backgrounds and abilities.

Applicants should have lived experience with disability or be a parent or immediate family member of an individual with a disability. This lived experience is an important part of the peer mentoring approach and will help the member connect authentically with participants.

The ideal candidate…