Resident Advisor

About Covenant House New York

Join a Legacy of Hope and Empowerment at Covenant House New York!

For over 50 years, Covenant House New York (CHNY) has been at the forefront of transforming lives by providing comprehensive shelter, housing, and wrap-around support services for vulnerable homeless, runaway, and exploited youth. As the largest provider of these essential services in New York City, CHNY impacts the lives of over 1,500 young people aged 16-24 every year.

At CHNY, our doors are open to all young people in need, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression. Our dedicated team offers various services, including shelter, housing, education, employment, health, mental health support, youth development, and anti-human trafficking initiatives. We operate with harm reduction and trauma-informed principles to ensure the best care for our youth.

But our mission goes beyond immediate support. We are passionate advocates for systemic change, influencing public policy, and raising awareness of the critical issues surrounding youth homelessness. Our ultimate goal is to provide a safe refuge and empower young people to build a brighter future founded on compassion, unconditional love, and absolute respect.

Join us in making a difference in the lives of countless young people. Join a team that inspires long-term transformation and hope.

About the role

The RA supports all aspects of the program, and assists youth living at the site holistically, providing support and motivating encouragement wherever needed.  RAs are also responsible for cooking meals for up to 20 youth, at times with other staff and/or youth, or on their own.  RAs will be provided assistance in obtaining food handling licenses and other culinary training, if needed. RAs also assist with keeping the site clean and well-maintained, including working with youth and other staff to manage garbage and day-to-day cleaning of all areas of the site.  These sites will also use evidence-based and other proven models.  RAs will be expected to participate in training and implementation activities for these social service models.

What you'll do

• Directly engages, supervises and supports youth residing at the Mother/Child site.
• Ensures that the site, including youths’ rooms, is clean and kept in good and safe condition.
• Welcomes youth to the site and orients youth to site expectations, CHNY’s mission and principles, and child protection policies and protocols.
• Assists youth with preparation for the day.  Ensures youth are awake and out of bed, fed, and on their way to work, school or other activities in a timely manner.
• Monitor program and client activities to ensure a safe and secure environment. 
• Cooks, or assists in the cooking, of meals for the youth.  Engages with youth during mealtimes and works with youth to facilitate post-meal clean up.
• Assists in keeping the site clean and well-maintained by participating in daily tidying up and facilitating the work of facilities and maintenance staff.    
• Provides support to Case Managers as needed, including distributing appointment slips, appointment follow up, collection and filing of paperwork, file maintenance, and file compliance.
• Maintains records in the Efforts to Outcomes (ETO) computer system, and enters all required documentation timely.
• Escorts youth to other agencies and services when necessary (e.g., hospitals, school visits)
• Maintains healthy, supportive relationships with the youth, mindful of boundaries and mutual respect.
• Leads and/or participates in recreational and holiday activities at the site and off-site trips.
• Completes incident reports by the end of the shift, and submit to appropriate parties.
• De-escalates crises; attends to emergencies following agency protocol, as needed.
• Performs other duties as assigned and needed.

Qualifications

• High School/GED with three or more years of relevant work experience required. Bachelor's Degree Preferred. 
• Experience working with at-risk/homeless young females is strongly preferred; interest in working with this population is required.
• 8-hour security license required (Covenant House will provide to candidates who accept employment and do not have this licensure)
• Driver's license preferred—comfortability driving a 7-passenger van a plus.
• Interest in working with youth who have experienced homelessness required.
• Strong multi-tasking skills with demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects at once required.
• Responds to supervision and coaching in a positive manner required.
• Excellent verbal, written and problem-solving abilities; willing and able to move throughout the day; and an upbeat, creative and fun demeanor required.
• A strong focus on child protection and ensuring the safety of residents required.
• Overall flexibility in work schedule required, including weekends, evenings and holidays if needed.  Adherence to attendance and punctuality requirements is a must.
• Dedicated to the mission of Covenant House.

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