Community Advocate, Commercial Sexual Exploitation

Overview

YWCA SKS is the region’s largest non-profit organization with a 120+ year legacy, focused on the needs of women, with programs serving 7,000 people each year. When you work with YWCA, you make a difference. We’re women and BIPOC-led, family-centered, and supportive of employees. As a full-time YWCA employee (30+ hours), you’ll enjoy a benefits package including medical insurance, generous vacation, holiday, sick leave plans, and an outstanding retirement plan.

Put your passion for racial equity and social justice to work – apply today!

What you’ll do and the environment you’ll join are described below.

What You’ll Do

YWCA Seattle|King|Snohomish, one of the largest nonprofits in the region, focused on the needs of women, girls, and families in the community, is searching for a Community Advocate to join their team in the South King County, WA area.

The Community Advocate works within Gender-Based Violence Services at YWCA and provides culturally relevant services designed to meet the needs of survivors of domestic violence/sexual assault and commercial sexual exploitation (CSE).

As a Community Advocate you will provide trauma-informed advocacy to adult survivors which may include support with protection orders, family law, CPS, housing navigation, safety planning and life skills, employment, etc. You will use a model of best practice trauma-informed advocacy with a strength-based approach.

Note:
This position is fully onsite at YWCA Offices.

• Provide support to clients in navigating various institutions (e.g., assist with filing protection orders, breaking leases, relocations, CPS interactions, and law enforcement interactions)
• Respond to referrals and calls within the required time frame
• Conduct intakes with new clients, including screening for eligibility and identifying essential needs
• Housing assessments for new move-ins for emergency shelter
• Provide crisis intervention advocacy
• Collect and complete reporting and quarterly narratives using data and statistical information
• Develop and maintain relationships with community partners and attend community meetings
• Facilitate and create presentations relevant to involved partners and services
• Engage in community networking to increase access to services for survivors, with emphasis on populations furthest from opportunity, including Black and African American survivors
• Maintain 20 hours of continued education on advocacy-based Domestic Violence
• Actively engage in the agency-wide Race and Social Justice Initiative (RSJI) and strive for racially equitable outcomes; contribute to creating and maintaining a safe, welcoming community

• 1 year of Direct Social Service experience or translatable lived experience in lieu of a social services degree
• Strong orientation toward navigating multiple systems (municipal, superior courts, legal systems, law enforcement)
• Experience working with survivors from marginalized communities, specifically African American communities
• Knowledgeable about gender-based violence (sexual assault, domestic violence, intimate partner violence, human trafficking)
• Skilled with Microsoft Office suite (Outlook, Calendar, Teams, Excel) and virtual meeting technology (e.g., Zoom)
• Valid Driver’s License and ability to travel independently between multiple work sites within a day
• Willingness to complete a minimum of 20 hours of initial basic training covering advocacy-based counseling, history of domestic violence, safety planning and crisis intervention

• The physical demands described are representative of those that must be met to perform essential functions. Reasonable accommodations may be made for individuals with disabilities.
• Staff are exposed to clients who have experienced trauma; secondary trauma risk is present. Employees are encouraged to seek external support and practice self-care.
• Continual information exchange with clients, agency staff, employers, community organizations, and others
• Frequent standing, walking, sitting, and climbing as part of duties
• Continuous use of telephones, computers, and office equipment
• Occasionally access to personal living spaces within multi-level…