What are the responsibilities and job description for the Housing Assistant Intern position at rescue?
BACKGROUND:
Founded in 1933, the International Rescue Committee is a leading, non-sectarian, non-profit organization providing emergency relief, protection, rehabilitation assistance, resettlement services, and advocacy for refugees and victims of oppression or violent conflict. Domestically, our 28 offices across the U.S. ensure new arrivals have food, shelter, and clothing, and work with refugees to help them gain self-sufficiency.
SCOPE OF VOLUNTEER WORK:
The housing intern will support the IRC in Salt Lake City's housing program, a leader in the nation of ensuring that refugees have a home to call their own as soon as they arrive in the US. New to the housing system, IRC clients often struggle with housing-related problems such as cleaning, reporting maintenance needs, and navigating the US rental system. The housing intern will visit clients at their 5-month mark and check on their housing status. This role will work closely with the logistics coordinator to expand our current housing access curriculum. In this role, interns get a substantial amount of one-on-one interaction with clients from around the world.
COMMITMENT: Work a minimum of 10 hours per week for 14 weeks, May 12th – August 29th
RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Assist logistics coordinator in identifying and addressing housing needs of clients.
• Visit clients who have been in the US for 5 months to check on housing needs.
• Assist in donation collection and distribution of household items to clients.
• Provide in-home maintenance and cleaning orientations as needed.
• Meet one-on-one or in small groups with clients to provide tutorial on navigating US leasing systems.
• Assist in other duties as needed including outreach, apartment searches, donations, deliveries, front desk support and other all staff and intern roles at the SLC office.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1. Intern will gain a deeper understanding of the affordable housing landscape in Salt Lake County and barriers to accessing affordable housing.
2. Intern will gain a better understanding of tenant/landlord relationships, including navigating lease term agreements.
3. Intern will gain experience in refugee resettlement logistics, including understanding requirements for refugee housing setups and community inputs required to accomplish setups.
