Street Outreach Worker - Shannon Grant

Old Colony YMCA•Brockton, MA

About The Position

The Peace Advocate has the primary responsibility to work with the street outreach team to foster a community that addresses potentially violence situations with nonviolent solutions by extensive networking and collaborating within the community and reaching out to identified and at-risk gang members and working directly with them to mediate potentially violent situations. He/she will model and teach nonviolence in the street while also seeking to link gang involved and at-risk youth to services and resources in the community; and will work to reduce attachment of project youth to gangs and gang activities, and assisting in community mobilization in the target area. The Peace Advocate will be a member of and participate in all intervention Team meetings and violence prevention initiatives within the city. He/she will reflect and display the values of Character Development which are caring, honesty, respect and responsibility.

Requirements

High School Diploma or equivalent required.
Minimum of one year in performing client-directed services in a field such as social service, grassroots organizations, community advocacy, or youth intervention.
Valid MA driver’s license, approved driving record and proof of insurance. Ability to drive car up to 8 hours per day.
Must be culturally responsive at all times.
Ability to operate a computer and enter data, maintain records, and generate reports
Strong oral and written communication skills
Ability to communicate with clients, families, and collateral resources in person and by phone.
Daily attendance and scheduling flexibility to include working nights and weekends.
Visual and auditory acuity to maintain program security required
Ability to stand, walk, crouch intermittently
Must be able to push, pull and lift up to 25 lbs. on occasion
Must be able to pass a drug screen
Knowledge of local agencies’ programs and services (school, social services, law enforcement, courts/corrections), local units of government, and grassroots organizations
Understand and relate to the needs of project participants of diverse ethnic, cultural, educational and socioeconomic backgrounds
Work effectively with high-risk, gang-involved populations
Network effectively with various types of organizations, including government agencies, law enforcement agencies, schools, social service agencies, courts/probation/corrections, and grassroots organizations
Prioritize tasks and work independently in the absence of supervision

Nice To Haves

Experience with the Brockton community and target population preferred.

Responsibilities

Identify appropriate youth to participate in the project based on target characteristics
Work extensively in the communicate to develop networks and collaborative efforts to both identify at-risk youth and offer services, especially with schools, police, grant providers, and other providers
Organize the street outreach efforts with the overall efforts of the Shannon grant/prevention initiative in the city
Mediate potential street violence and gang violence situations
Recruit and retain project youth by providing access to job skills training, information, resources, pro-social role modeling, and encouragement
Serve as an advocate for project youth in securing social services, education, and job-related opportunities; provide information about services; and assess needs.
Assess the needs of family members as related to the target youths’ gang involvement, identify gang-affected siblings of target participants, and make referrals to appropriate services
Provide information on available services for participants’ family members
Provide appropriate referral and follow-up to ensure that target youth are aware and able to access services
Plan and attend social and recreational activities for the target youth
Maintain records of contacts with youth, enter data in real time and write reports on status of clients
Identify community resources to assist in implementation of the project
Work with victims of gang related crime within the community
Attend all internal/external meetings and trainings as required by supervisor
Other duties as assigned