Jen Grossman Berkowitz

I attribute my success to my genuine love for what I do, which drives me to be my best. I give up my weekends and evenings, have meetings that start at 7:30 in the morning and go till 9 o'clock at night, and stay at facilities all day on Sunday because that's the only day members are around to see me. I always want to work to 150% of my capacity - that's the effort I want to put into every aspect of my job, including hiring. I'm the pickiest hiring person you've ever met, but I make sure these people have compassion, have intelligence, can be trained, will be loyal, will be hardworking, and will fit in with corporate culture. Getting Employee of the Year showed me that all of the effort I've been putting forth has had an impact across the board with the members, with the facilities, and with the company as a whole. It's a confirmation that what I'm doing is correct. I have strengths in both the business side and the compassionate side - some days I'm opening 4 new facilities in 4 months and getting meetings left and right, and other days I'm treating people and teaching people and uplifting people. I hold those relationships very dear, and I think that everybody is very fragile and needs to be handled with genuine care that comes from the heart, or it's fake and it will fall to pieces. My role in this world is to help people as much as I can and to give back as much as I can for everything that I have lived through in my own traumatic life - to take my own personal traumas and turn them into a success for myself, and to show others who are down that they too can find the strength and come out of negativity.

As my manager says to me, it's his job to take everything he knows and give it to me, to teach me to be the best peer I can be. Take everything that you've learned that works, and everything that you know that doesn't work, and apply what works, and explain what doesn't work.

Only do it if you love it. Be prepared to take everything that you've learned, everything that's in your brain that you've learned that's helped you, and give it to others. Give everything, your whole brain. Take everything that you've learned that works, and everything that you know that doesn't work, and apply what works, and explain what doesn't work, but only do it if you love it and you feel it, because members know if you're really into what you're doing, and they're only going to believe you if they believe it's genuine. If you're just showing up and spending time and playing cards and a little chit-chat here and there, they're going to know that it's not genuine, and it's not helpful. So there needs to be a true passion in your heart to help others, the ability to hear things that are very difficult to hear, the ability to have patience with people who are very different than you. You have to be non-judgmental, non-discriminatory in any way. I work with all different types of people that you would look and say, oh my god, I would never be friends with people like that, but you know what? These people are amazing when I get to know them. So yeah, a lot of compassion, being very genuine, and trying your hardest. That's all anyone can really do, is just try their best to help.

I want to reach more people to get them involved in this line of work so that more people can be helped. I want to promote being a peer specialist and making a difference so that more people do it, so that we can help the millions that we haven't gotten to yet. I want to grow my business on Long Island because there are so many people in need. There are just so many older people - I work with an older population in assisted living and adult homes, people around a certain age - and so many on Long Island that need help. Peer Services provides support as part of an overall treatment plan. We're recognized by insurance, so we work alongside physicians, psychologists, clinical social workers, psychiatrists, and then peer specialists. We are on the treatment plans, and we're considered part of the overall treatment for people with mental health and substance issues.

I feel that my role in this world is to help people as much as I can and to give back as much as I can for everything that I have lived through in my own traumatic life. I want to take my own personal traumas and turn them into a success for myself, and to show others who are in a state of being down that they too can find the strength and come out of negativity and turn it into positivity and be a happy, successful, productive person with a fulfilling life. I hold relationships very dear, and I think that everybody is very fragile and everybody needs to be handled with genuine care that comes from the heart, or it's fake and it will fall to pieces. I'm always telling people, I'm still your friend. You may not see me every day, but I have your back. I will always have your back. I have people that I work with telling me that I care about them more than they care about themselves. There needs to be a true passion in your heart to help others, the ability to hear things that are very difficult to hear, the ability to have patience with people who are very different than you. You have to be non-judgmental, non-discriminatory in any way. I've worked my entire life while raising 3 children, finding jobs where if they were sick, I could be home when they got out of school at 3, but I made sure that I worked while raising a family.