Continuum of Care, Inc.’s mission is to enable people who are challenged with mental illness, intellectual disability, and/or co-occurring substance use disorder, to rebuild a meaningful life and thrive in the community.
Continuum Recovery Employment Support Services
Continuum Recovery Employment Support Services
(CRESS) runs four programs for individuals who have a history of mental illness, addiction or homelessness:
- Safe Harbor Warm Line
- Employment Apprenticeship Program
- Peer Internship & Recovery Support Specialist Employment Services
- Consumer Initiative Grants Program
- Transitional Access Program (TAP)
These programs train and employ people in recovery so they can help others, and also help individuals find housing and rebuild their lives.
The Warm Line serves people with mental illnesses who want a listening ear. All calls are confidential and all operators are trained and in recovery. The Warm Line has answered over 75,000 calls. You can reach the Warm Line every night, including holidays, from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. at 800.258.1528.
Employment Apprenticeship Program
Continuum offers people with mental health or co-occurring disorders an opportunity to overcome barriers to competitive employment.
Our paid apprenticeship program lasts 12 to 18 months and includes hands-on training in four different areas:
- Custodial
- House Cleaning
- Landscaping
- Moving & Bulk Trash
We also train for bedbug prep and decluttering. Click Here to Apply.
Peer Internship & Recovery Support Specialist Employment Services
Mental health professionals now recognize that staff who are in recovery can help those starting out on the road to recovery. Our program trains people in long-term recovery to work in mental health programs. They serve as role models and provide practical support.
CRESS contracts with mental health agencies and provides them with Recovery Support Specialists (RSS) who counsel clients in outpatient programs, reduce client anxiety in crisis units, work with people newly released from prison and hospitals, facilitate groups for people in early recovery, and provide a listening ear.
RSS participate in a rigorous training program lasting several months, including a 96-hour internship placement. They are paid a competitive wage and typically work 12-20 hours a week, though some work full-time.
A site supervisor provides daily individual and group supervision to all RSS. The supervisor meets with them to improve their skills, handle problems on the job, and lead group sessions. SCPS has employed more than 200 Recovery Support Specialists.
Peer Internship Flyer - Click here
Peer Internship Application - Click here
Transitional Access Program (TAP)
TAP is a multi-agency program that SCPES funds and coordinates. We seek out homeless people living in shelters who have regular income and can afford to pay rent and move them into stable housing with their first month’s rent paid and three months of case management. Staff members from participating agencies provide case management and decide which applicants are likely to succeed in the program.
TAP has helped over 2,500 people who are homeless or at immediate risk of homelessness to move into sober and rooming houses.