Relief Support Advocate

About the role

The Relief Support Advocate will provide last-minute, on-call shift coverage for after-hours advocates, ensuring adequate coverage for the emergency shelter. This position is responsible for covering any open shifts throughout the week they are on call. The ideal candidate is compassionate, capable of handling multiple tasks efficiently, and is incredibly reliable.

Responsibilities

• Provide on-call, in-person shift coverage at the emergency shelter for any and all open shifts, including last-minute requests.
• Regularly sign up for on-call weeks to cover shifts in person.
• Provide crisis intervention services for phone-in and walk-in survivors.
• Perform entries with accepted clients.
• Promote a positive environment within the shelter for both residents and employees.
• Facilitate activity groups with clients, as scheduled.
• Complete hourly walk-throughs of the building to ensure client needs are met.
• Complete documentation of interactions and calls by the end of the shift.
• Replenish necessary supplies in resident rooms, including toilet paper, trash bins and bags, shampoo, and conditioner.
• Wash, fold, and restock bedding supplies to prepare for new residents.
• Create toiletry bags for incoming clients.
• Ensure all living spaces meet the shelter’s cleanliness and safety standards through regular walk-throughs and inspections.
• Assist Shelter Facilities Support Specialist with cleaning and preparing rooms for new residents after a resident has left the program within 3–5 business days of their departure.
• Act as a good steward of DVIS’s resources.
• Safeguard against the release of confidential and proprietary information of DVIS and its clients.
• Maintain up-to-date and accurate files for each client according to agency guidelines and current professional standards.
• Attend meetings and training as requested by supervisor.

Requirements

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in social work, psychology, counseling, or a related field, or any equivalent combination of education and/or experience.
• Experience: None required.
• Computer Skills: Proven computer skills including Microsoft Office Suite.
• Knowledge/Skills:
  • Understanding and sensitivity toward issues involved in domestic violence, particularly as they relate to survivors of any gender, race, socioeconomic status, religion, sexual orientation, etc.
  • Ability to learn and grow trauma-informed, client-centered approaches.
  • Ability to work collaboratively in a decision-making process.
  • Knowledge of or experience working with social justice issues, specifically intimate partner and gender-based domestic and sexual violence, and racial, class, gender, sexual orientation issues, and intervention/prevention services strongly preferred.
  • Dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
  • Excellent organizational skills, written and oral communication skills, attention to detail, and ability to prioritize work and tasks.
  • Adaptability to produce and meet deadlines in a fast-paced, multi-task, and changing environment with frequent pressure related to meeting deadlines and scheduling requirements.
  • Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
  • Ability to embrace, support, and integrate DVIS’s philosophies to promote and demonstrate commitment to diversity, inclusion, equity, and anti-racism.
  • Diplomacy in confronting personal, individual, and internal discrimination requiring sharing and discussing personal identities relative to the work environment is strongly preferred.
• Availability: Must be available to be on call for a week at a time and during that week, must be available to cover shifts:
  • Sunday–Saturday 4:45 p.m.–10:45 p.m.
  • Sunday–Saturday 10:30 a.m.–8:30 a.m.
  • Saturday and Sunday 8:15 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
• Licenses/Certifications: Valid driver’s license; current CPR and First Aid certification preferred.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to communicate and understand in English effectively, in person and in writing.
• Ability to hear adequately in person and by phone, in personal and group settings, and function with periodic distractions such as people, telephone calls, and noise.
• Ability to work with and process information from a variety of individuals and media (e.g., computers, projected images, printed materials), and occasional sitting and/or standing for long periods of time.
• Mobility is necessary to access various offices and a wide variety of settings, including intermittent standing, walking/traversing, sitting, stooping, kneeling, bending, and twisting, occasionally climbing stairs or using an elevator, and possibly reaching chest high and overhead for materials.
• Ability to reach for, move, and/or lift up to 25 pounds and the use of hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls, including frequent repetitive movement such as extended periods of keyboarding.