Greater Lansing Housing Coalition and Advent House Ministries are seeking an AmeriCorps Member.
Duration of Term: October 7, 2013 (start date) – October 3, 2014
Program Objectives:
This position will provide support service to several programs designed
to reduce homelessness which are offered by the Greater Lansing Housing
Coalition and Advent House Ministries. The work this position will
complete will enable the agencies to increase their capacity to offer
assistance to homeless and at-risk individuals and families.
Specifically, the AmeriCorps member will provide services that will
increase an individual’s self-sufficiency in the area of income and life
skills, and will enable them to sustain a more efficient, healthy, and
viable home.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
In support of the Ballentine Apartments, Walnut Street Apartments,
Saginaw Street/Ferris Apartments, VOA/VA project, and the Tuesday
Toolmen program, the AmeriCorps member will be responsible for various
intake, triage, resource referral, data collection and reporting, and
special projects.
Housing Assistance
- Conduct intakes to assess the housing needs of the client or address housing barriers
- Create or update lists of available housing for clients
- Connect clients with the necessary funds to pay security deposits, rental fees or utility payments
- Transport clients to view potential housing locations
- Maintain or develop relationships with local landlords to assess their willingness to work with agency clients
- Receive training for and conduct Housing Quality Standard (HQS) inspections on potential client housing
Resource Networking:
- Conduct intakes to assess the client's non-housing needs and barriers
- Assist clients in determining eligibility for mainstream benefits; help them apply for said benefits or direct them to someone who can assist
- Provide assistance with the creation of household budgets
- Gather and disperse food and clothing donations to clients
- Organize and facilitate advisory boards or community meetings for clients, to discuss topics such as budgeting, housing, or income assistance
- Facilitate delivery of needed household items to housing clients
- Assist with transportation needs to help clients keep appointments
- Create informational materials for clients
Follow-Up Support:
Visit clients that have been moved into housing at intervals deemed
appropriate by the host agency and provide additional support as needed
to the client after housing has been secured
Volunteer Generation:
- Recruit and train a minimum of 25 volunteers during the term of service
- Use pre- and post-tests or intake forms to measure the volunteers’ change in knowledge regarding homelessness
- Work with the program’s Volunteer Coordinator to establish a pool of local volunteers that can be utilized for agency needs or events
- Design financial life skills classes to be taught by volunteers
- Foster relationships with community leaders and businesses to secure in-kind support for endeavors such as Project Homeless Connect
- Attend community meetings to provide information about AmeriCorps as well as the need for community involvement on homelessness issues
Civic Engagement:
- Develop and participate in community service projects related to homelessness, such as a Project Homeless Connect or a poverty simulation;
- Offer holiday services to clients such as serving meals or distributing toys and other goods
- Participate in other service projects during national service sanctioned events such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day or AmeriCorps Week
- Participate in service projects sponsored by the Michigan Community Service Commission (MCSC) or other Michigan AmeriCorps programs.
- Attend and actively participate in local Continuum of Care (CoC) meetings
- Attend and actively participate in other meetings related to the purpose of educating the community about homelessness
Outreach:
- Maintain regular contact with other local service providers (emergency or domestic violence shelters, transitional housing and similar programs) to make appropriate referrals
- Provide information to potential clients through visits to soup kitchens, shelters or other locations in the community where the homeless or at-risk may gather
Other:
- Attend all mandatory trainings and meetings related to the program
- Attend and actively participate in all member conference calls, unless otherwise excused
- Submit quarterly reports by the deadlines provided, with all necessary information provided
Desired Skills:
- Cross cultural awareness
- Ability to interact respectfully with individuals from diverse socio-economic backgrounds
- Excellent verbal and written communications
- Self motivated
- Ability to accept and successfully utilize multi-focal supervision
- Basic knowledge of crisis management
- Familiarity with local social services and community resources
- Ability to discern priorities and set goals
Minimum Qualifications:
- Be at least 18 years of age;
- Be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national or a lawful, permanent resident of the U.S. and provide a copy of a birth certificate, passport or permanent resident card to prove citizenship;
- Completion of some college or comparable work experience;
- Must be able to complete a full term of service (one year)
- Pass the following criminal history checks: State of Michigan, DHS Central Registry Clearance, FBI fingerprinting, and National Sex Offender Registry;
- Must arrange appropriate childcare prior to service, if needed;
- Have a car or be able to arrange reliable transportation to and from service site and mandatory training sessions;
- Possess proficiency with word processing software and email
Compensation:
- A stipend totaling $12,100, paid bi-weekly over the course of the service year
- Upon successful completion of the term, an education award totaling $5,550
- Health insurance for member only
To apply, please send a resume and cover letter to: secancro@adventhouse.com
Application deadline: August 5, 2013, 5:00 pm
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