Why become a Peer Specialist?
Great pay, state certification, and a career path full of opportunities – this is more than just a job. It’s an exciting and impactful career where you can use your personal experiences to save lives and help families heal.
If you’ve experienced substance use or mental health challenges and are in recovery, becoming a Resource Peer Support Specialist (RPSS) or a Mental Health Peer Specialist (MHPS) lets you turn your journey into a powerful tool for supporting others.
With just two and a half weeks of initial training, you’ll then begin 250 hours of supervised training, which can be scheduled around your current work commitments. Start your path to making a real difference today!
Tuition for state certification training is as low as $1,200, with scholarships available.
Agencies are urgently hiring certified RPSS and MHPS professionals, with starting pay around $19/hour and full benefits!
Welcome to the Homeward Bound Academy
"I stood before a lot of judges. I never thought I'd stand beside one."
- RSPS Justin Minder, works with South Dallas Drug Court Judges
Why choose the Homeward Bound Academy?
Twenty years ago, Homeward Bound played a key role in developing the nation's first Recovery Peer Services Specialist (RPSS) training and certification program. We hired the very first RPSS graduates and have been hiring and training ever since. Choosing the Homeward Bound Academy means you're learning from the pioneers in the field.
But that’s just the beginning!
At Homeward Bound Inc., our award-winning, full-service treatment center, you can complete all your training and supervised work to achieve full state certification. No one in North Texas matches our experience or breadth of services. With 45 years in the nonprofit sector, we are one of the few treatment centers nationwide that also addresses mental illness. We've helped over 250,000 homeless and indigent clients.
Our peer trainers are experts who’ve worked with the most vulnerable populations in North Texas. Having the Homeward Bound Academy on your resume speaks volumes to hospitals and social service agencies across Texas. They know: If you’ve succeeded at Homeward Bound, you can thrive anywhere.
Take a look at the flowchart below to see each step of the Homeward Bound Academy’s peer training, along with class prices.
ORIENTATION
CORE Training
$200
MHPS
$500
RHPS
$500
250 hour
On-Site Training
$550
Peer Supervisor
$500
You have the option to be either a Resource Peer Service Specialist (RPSS) or a Mental Health Peer Specialist (MHPS), but we would like you to train and have experience in both specialties. Because your employment opportunities will be twice as large!
To begin your career as a RPSS or MHPS. Please click the link provided below; please fill out the form and bring to your first day of class.
If you ever need to check when a training session will take place, a comprehensive calendar displays scheduled training dates.