Street Outreach Worker - Gun Violence Prevention

Job Summary

The Peace Advocate works with the street outreach team to foster a community that addresses potentially violent situations with nonviolent solutions. This includes networking and collaborating within the community, working directly with identified and at-risk gang members, mediating potential street and gang violence, and linking gang-involved and at-risk youth to services and resources.

Job Functions

• Identify appropriate youth to participate in the project based on target characteristics
• Work extensively in the community to develop networks and collaborative efforts to identify at-risk youth and offer services, especially with schools, police, grant providers, and other providers
• Organize street outreach efforts with the overall Gun Violence Prevention initiative in the city
• Mediate potential street 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
• Affirmatively 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
• Ensure that target youth are aware and able to access services by planning and attending 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
• Perform other duties as assigned

Requirements

• High School Diploma or GED required
• Valid driver’s license and car insurance by date of hire is preferred
• Familiarity with the community and the ethnic culture of the target population
• Knowledge of local agencies’ programs and services (school, social services, law enforcement, courts/corrections), local units of government, and grassroots organizations
• Possess strong communication and interpersonal skills and work effectively with agency staff and service providers and with gang members and their family members
• Work a flexible schedule, including nights and weekends
• Clearly communicate ideas in both written and verbal form
• 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
• Operate a computer to enter data, maintain records, and generate reports
• Network effectively with various types of organizations, including government agencies, law enforcement agencies, schools, social service agencies, courts/probation/corrections, and grassroots organizations
• Work effectively with community residents, diverse population groups, and youth
• Prioritize tasks and work independently in the absence of supervision