POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT
Serve New York AmeriCorps VISTA
Veterans and Consumer Debt Partnership
with LawHelpNY
Program Start Date:
Members will attend a Pre-Service
Orientation (July 31 - August 3, 2017) and start their term of service on or
about August 4, 2017.
Project Description:
Legal
Assistance of Western New York's (LawNY) Geneva office
seeks one AmeriCorps VISTA Member to assist with developing our Veterans and
Consumer Debt Partnership with LawHelpNY.
LawNY is a not-for-profit law firm which provides
civil legal services to low-income clients in a fourteen-county region in
western New York State. The Geneva office serves five of those fourteen
counties (Livingston, Ontario, Seneca, Wayne and Yates) and provides
representation primarily in the areas of housing, public benefits, family,
education, consumer, health and elder law. LawNY has six other
offices located in Bath, Elmira, Ithaca, Jamestown, Olean and Rochester, New
York.
LawNY is partnering with Pro Bono Net (PBN) and the LawHelpNY program on this
project. Pro Bono Net is a national nonprofit dedicated to increasing access
to justice through innovative technology solutions, collaboration and
network-building. PBN's LawHelpNY program specifically serves low-income
individuals in New York State by providing legal information and legal referral
information to those who cannot afford an attorney. In a novel collaboration, LawHelpNY and Legal
Assistance of Western New York have collaborated to create an online Consumer
Triage initiative to provide information and legal services to residents of
Western New York, especially veterans, facing a range of issues regarding
consumer debt.
The VISTA member will
develop and implement an upstate outreach program for LawHelpNY and the online
Consumer Triage initiative with a particular focus on organizations serving
veterans and their families, to be done through both in-person and online
promotion and training. The member will support the administration of a
volunteer-driven live chat program, helping to recruit and train volunteers,
and manage the remote volunteer program.
The VISTA member will also maintain and update content on LawHelpNY to
help low income individuals resolve civil legal issues.
LawNY is looking for a talented and dedicated AmeriCorps VISTA member to help develop
the project into something that can meet the community's needs now and for
years to come. Candidates should have a bachelor's degree, strong writing
skills, strong verbal communication skills, and a high degree of comfort with
technology. Prior experience working with veterans and/or low
income/disadvantaged households is preferred.
The member should have a commitment to eliminating poverty and its
effects in our communities and to high standards of professional performance.
The member's activities will include community outreach, developing
relationships with community-based organizations, strategic use of social
media, providing administrative support to a substantial online volunteer
program, and helping maintain quality content on the LawHelpNY website.
Serve
New York and LawNY present an
opportunity to be part of a great AmeriCorps VISTA team, excellent training and
mentoring, and a chance to make a critical difference in the lives of low
income people and their communities. The VISTA member will team with dedicated
professionals, including other AmeriCorps members, in an established poverty
law program.
Benefits of AmeriCorps VISTA Service:
- $17,170 annual stipend, paid as follows:
- $11,676 annual stipend ($486.50 bi-weekly) from
AmeriCorps Serve New York VISTA Program
- $5,494 housing allowance ($457.83 per month) paid by LawNY
- Option of a $5,775
education award or a $1,500 cash
stipend presented at the end of a year of service
- Deferment of qualified
federal and some private student loans
- Year long position
with possibility of 2nd year
- Post-service federal
employment incentives and opportunities
- Health care, child
care, life insurance available
- Intensive trainings
and member support
Member Qualifications:
- Requires full-time
service (applicant can have part-time outside employment)
- Bachelor's degree
required
- This position requires strong
computer skills, including fluency in using the Internet and Microsoft
Office Suite, and a high degree of comfort with learning new tools such as
website content management systems, Google Apps for Nonprofits, and online
chat tools.
- The candidate must be comfortable
with social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
- The candidate must be comfortable
with online research to identify new tools and resources in the area of
access to justice.
- The candidate must be comfortable
with public speaking and teaching other professionals and community
members about online resources available for low-income individuals,
especially veterans, who are facing legal issues.
- The candidate must have strong
verbal and written communication skills, and be able to write about
complex matters in a straightforward and accessible way.
- The candidate must be
self-initiated, well-organized, and attentive to detail.
- The candidate would ideally have a driver's
license and access to a car
Application Procedure:
Applicants should email a letter of interest, a resume, and the
names of three references to Kaitlin Tharp, Administrator of LawNY's
Geneva office, at the following email address: lawnyapplications@lawny.org. Applicants will also need to submit an application
to the general program posting at https://my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/viewListing.do?id=73009&fromSearch=true.
More
information about AmeriCorps and the Serve New York VISTA Program is available
at http://www.tscwny.org/programs/vista-programs/. All applications will be
considered until the position is filled. |