Resident Advocacy Coordinator, The Second Step, Newtonville, MA

Resident Advocacy Coordinator

Posted on: October 17, 2014
Posted by: The Second Step

The Second Step (TSS) seeks to break the cycle of domestic violence, one family at a time, by providing services to individuals & families that enable them to remain free from abusive relationships & live successful lives. Those individuals & families who enter our program have successfully taken the first step away from domestic violence. TSS provides support & advocacy services to connect them with a broad range of services, referrals, including education & employment training, permanent housing search, mental health & addiction services, legal services, parenting support & community advocacy support.

Mission statement: The Second Step, in partnership with survivors of domestic violence, creates safe, supportive community, identifies choices and builds foundations to transcend abuse.

Primary Objectives: Implementing case management & advocacy services within the philosophical framework of the agency including trauma-informed; strength based, relational & empowering practice.

RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Case Management/Advocacy

• Provide case management & advocacy services for 4 families (unless otherwise determined by supervisor) including child assessment & child goal plan development. 
• Develop service plans with residents that address a variety of needs such as medical, legal, educational, employment benefits, & behavioral health; work closely with other residential staff to assist families in obtaining their goals; actively engage in networking with community service providers to locate programs & resources that support resident goals. 
• Liaison & advocacy with community service providers to secure resources & provide services for children/families including: day care, summer camp, school after school, parent education, counseling, legal & health care. 
• Each resident coordinator shares in the responsibility of the scheduling interviews of prospective program participants; review of transitional housing application, checking references & orientating new participants to the program once admitted. 
• In collaboration with other Resident Service Coordinators, plan and schedule TSS Family Programming to include psycho-educational workshops, seminars with outside providers.

2. Housing Advocacy

• Provide housing advocacy & case management services to assigned families including budgeting counseling. 
• Assist families in obtaining financial resources for housing expenses related to acquiring permanent housing. 
• Develop & maintain positive working relationships with Housing Authorities. 
• Coordinate program participant's moves to permanent housing. 
• Ensure 'bridge meeting" is scheduled with Community Advocate prior to participant scheduled move out date.

3. Community Building

In collaboration with other residential staff, create a nurturing, supportive environment that facilitates families to build resilience & develop beyond the trauma they have experienced. This involves setting expectations & implementing policies, practices & systems that sustain safety & growth. A piece of this work is monitoring the environment for breaches to psychological &/or physical safety & intervening appropriately. Co-facilitate community meeting for residents once a week in the evening.

Other Responsibilities
· Attend & actively participate in weekly team meetings & agency wide staff meetings.
· Attend individual supervision
· Represent TSS at community events & forums as needed.
· Provide child-care as needed.
· Coordinate special events including holiday celebration for TSS program participants & other special events for residential clients as needed. Coordinate annual summer reunion & backpack drive with community program staff. Provide support for holiday gift drive.
· Participation in on-call rotation. (compensation provided)
· All other duties as assigned by Senior of Residential Programs or Executive Director

QUALIFICATIONS

Applicants must be bilingual (English/Spanish). In addition, the ideal candidate will have: 

• 2-3 years experience working with survivors of domestic violence and/or homeless families & individuals in residential and/or community based programs. 
• Knowledge of issues related to domestic violence, trauma, mental health & addiction with a particular emphasis on how these issues impact families is essential. 
• Knowledge of issues related to child development & parenting is valuable. 
• Life & employment experience are considered as valuable assets.

Additional Qualifications include:
· Experience with public housing & appeals process
· Supervision experience
· Strong crisis management, problem-solving & interpersonal skills.
· Demonstrated ability to learn & master new skills & materials.
· Ability to train peers & share expertise with colleagues.
· Ability to manage competing priorities simultaneously & precisely
· Proficiency with computers; strong writing & verbal skills
· Organizational skills including the ability to work under pressure.
· Bi-lingual (English/Spanish) strongly preferred.
· Ability to work collaboratively & effectively in an environment that is linguistically & culturally diverse.

Hours: Full-time – Combination of days & evenings. 40 hours per week. Flexibility is very important.
A successful candidate will be flexible, have a sense of humor, & be committed to serving families that are determined to move beyond domestic violence. A driver's license is required in order to drive agency vehicles.

Salary & Benefits: Salary commensurate with experience (low-high $40s, depending on experience). Benefits outlined in the current personnel policies. On-site Clinical Supervision is provided bi-monthly. Compensation is provided for the On-Call coverage.

Equal opportunity: The Second Step encourages multi-cultural & multi-lingual diversity in all of its programs. Minorities, Bi-lingual, survivors of domestic & sexual violence, GBLTQ candidates strongly encouraged to apply. Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer

HOW TO APPLY

If you are interested: please send a resume and cover letter to our Senior Manager of Residential Programs: Ashley Shoares:  ashoares@thesecondstep.org