Relief Safety Advocate

WHAT YOU'LL DO:

Under the guidance of the Operations Manager, the Relief Safety Advocate provides a safe environment for clients, staff, volunteers, and guests of Larkin Street Youth Services. This role responds to on-the-ground crisis and emergencies to increase safety in and around Larkin Street’s housing programs, drop-in center, and offices. You will be joining a team that takes a trauma-informed perspective to their work. Safety Advocates de-escalate behaviors and risks with compassion and care. 

This is a part-time, on call position. This role is NOT eligible for benefits.

Your responsibilities:

• Monitor and anticipate potential safety and security problems, and attempts, through de-escalation techniques to prevent or defuse them before they become critical.

• Maintain updated awareness of clients with restricted or modified access to services.

• Redirect and ensure the exit of ineligible clients to secure the safety of the space,

• Respond to emergency calls from assigned areas as needed.

• Safely deal with or assist in dealing with any emergency situations.

• Always maintain a high level of awareness of one’s surroundings.

• Observe and identify unusual/irregular occurrences that may require closer examination to ensure the safety of the facilities and the persons in them.

• Observe and safely intervene as appropriate in crises to ensure the safety of staff, clients, volunteers, and other visitors.

• Monitor assigned area to identify safety hazards, reports safety hazards, and intervene according to established procedures.

• Comply with all Larkin Street’s safety requirements, policies, and requirements to ensure a safe work environment for all.

• Check and secure buildings at the beginning and end of each day as instructed. Checks assigned areas (rounds) as needed.

• Participate in emergency response and disaster preparedness training and drills.

• Respond to crises and emergencies with urgency, occasionally needs to ascend/descend stairways quickly.

• Safely and effectively de-escalate disruptive and/or aggressive persons using acceptable physical de-escalation and crisis prevention techniques.

• Support special events and activities as assigned, including set up and breakdown and monitoring the event and/or workshop itself.

• Attends and supports with restorative re-entry meetings with clients

• Support in bag searches and metal detection “wanding” as needed.

• Assist with janitorial services to maintain a clean and safe environment for work and community access including daily upkeep of the exterior of the facility which involves litter abatement and power washing. 

• Courteously assist guests and clients, giving information, responding to questions.

• Maintain appropriate boundaries with clients and staff as outlined in the Standards of Conduct located in the Larkin Street Youth Services employee handbook.

• Maintain up-to-date information on internal programs to support guests.

• Assist in implementing and enforcing program procedures and guidelines in all programs internally and while working externally.

• May need to move about the surrounding areas of their post (i.e., Larkin Street housing programs) for coverage.

• Treat all clients with empathy, dignity, and respect. Seek to understand the other person's perspective and experience.

• Demonstrate the ability to work effectively across cultures and an openness to learning about cultures not familiar to oneself.

• Participate in regular training and development opportunities to increase personal capacity to apply innovative approaches to daily workflows and guest engagement.

• Understand and follow the organization's programs, policies, and procedures

• Participate in relevant meetings supporting team communication and the program's capacity to fulfill organizational goals and mission.

• Write incident and modification of service reports as needed.

• Collaboratively work with others to achieve team success.

• Manage stress and pressure situations calmly and responsively. Maintain the capacity to control reactions and awareness of how their behavior or response can impact others.

• Practice direct, respectful, open, and honest communication with their colleagues. Proactively seeks support from team members or management.

• Demonstrate cooperation with coworkers, management, and the community at large.

WHO YOU ARE:

• You are passionate about the Larkin Street Youth Services mission to end youth homelessness.
• You are skilled at being polite, diplomatic, and firm, especially in emergency and/or high-pressure situations. 
• You are able to hold firm boundaries with staff and clients. 
• You are able to work weekends and/or holidays as needed. 
• You are willing to complete guard card certification within three (3) months of hire. 
• You are skilled at crisis de-escalation. You are willing to complete Crisis Prevention training within three (3) months of hire. 
• You are certified in CPR/First Aid and/or you are willing to complete this training within three (3) months of hire.
• You are able to document situations in written reports. 
• You are comfortable communicating using a variety of methods: computers, smartphones, iPads.
• You are a self-starter and team player. Your colleagues describe you as compassionate, dependable, and patient. 
• You work best in an onsite and in person working environment. This role is 100% onsite and in person.
• Your proficiency in a second language is a huge plus!

THE PERKS:

• Hourly Rate of $25.00
  
  • +$1 per hour for any overnight hours worked (12AM-8AM).
  • +$1.50 per hour for bilingual incentive pay. Must be fluent in Spanish and English.