Carlson Civic Fellowship:
ROOTS Young Adult Shelter
APPLY HERE(Word Doc)
ROOTS Young Adult Shelter is an emergency shelter for unstably housed young adults ages 18-25. Throughout 2012, ROOTS has been responding to the unmet need for youth shelter by adding a 65% capacity increase, bringing the organization up to 45 guest beds per night. The Carlson Civic Fellow will play a critical role in the organization’s capacity growth.
Since ROOTS’s shelter staff is mainly volunteers, the majority of the staff in shelter is different each night. A Carlson Civic Fellow would help provide leadership and consistency to the volunteer team while they are in the shelter during the evening and overnight. The organization is counting on the night-to-night consistency to help not only the volunteers who come in weekly, but also the guests, who deserve a high quality experience each night they stay.
The Carlson Civic Fellow at ROOTS would help maintain the emotional and physical safety of the shelter space, help set up shelter, prepare food, build positive relationships with guests, assist in conflict de-escalation (training provided), orient new guests to shelter routine and rules, coach new volunteers in shelter, organize agency events, and participate in staff meetings. The Civic Fellow will have the opportunity to provide direct services, as well as engage in program development. Unlike other social service organizations, ROOTS empowers guests and volunteers to play a very active role in managing the space we share. The Carlson Civic Fellow will serve as an adjunct to our managers to be the eyes and ears needed to best represent and support these key groups.
The ideal candidate will have a commitment to:
- Working as part of a team in developing ideas and resolving conflicts
- Continually learning and staying open to feedback
- Developing professional relationships and maintaining boundaries with guests
- Demonstrating self-care and understanding the limits of compassion
- Co-creating a supportive work environment
- Being aware of their own privilege and how their privilege impacts the work they do
- Completing day to day tasks with high quality, while keeping the big picture in sight
- Being able to think flexibly
