Disability Services Counselor Advocate

Program Administration

About Safe Passage

Safe Passage is a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing the aftermath and prevention of domestic violence and relationship abuse. Safe Passage provides services to address survivors’ holistic needs for recovery and physical safety. Services include trauma-informed counseling and support groups for survivors, families and children, community education, and individual and policy advocacy.

Our Mission: Safe Passage is dedicated to creating a world free of domestic violence and relationship abuse. We support survivors and their families. We engage our community. We advocate for systemic change.

Safe Passage is an organization made up of survivors, women, trans folks, people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, and LGBQ people. Oppression and violence disparately impacts us and we strongly encourage people from these and other impacted communities to apply. We aspire to foster a work environment that is inclusive as well as diverse. Survivors come from all different backgrounds, and so do our employees. We encourage you to apply if you believe you have the skills and experience to thrive in this role and contribute to our mission at Safe Passage.

Benefits

Safe Passage is a supportive, collaborative workplace that fosters growth in its employees, both personally and professionally. We strive to hold an environment that encourages growth, creativity, and flexibility. We are advocates for livable wages, self-care and work-life balance, and our compensation package reflects this. We offer accrued vacation time, personal days, and ample holiday and sick time. Benefits include dental, health, and vision insurance, 401(k) with agency match, life insurance, and more. Safe Passage works to earn its position as a justice-centered employer of choice in Western MA. Safe Passage provides a bilingual pay premium of $1/hour for staff who possess language competency that is likely to be utilized in their position.

Position Summary

The Disability Services Counselor Advocate has primary responsibility for providing crisis intervention, counseling, advocacy, and safety planning, using an empowerment model, to survivors of domestic violence, especially those with disabilities who are experiencing or have experienced domestic violence. This position also serves as a resource for other Safe Passage staff and volunteers on the needs of people with disabilities, and supports outreach to disabled and other communities.

Essential Functions

Counseling & Advocacy

• Provide crisis intervention and counseling to people who are experiencing or have experienced domestic violence through individual counseling, helpline response, and emergency walk-in intervention, with particular emphasis on survivors with disabilities.

• Facilitate culturally responsive support groups, including an ongoing, remote, general support group and support groups tailored to the needs of disabled survivors designed to support and empower survivors who are experiencing domestic violence.

• Assess clients’ needs and provide advocacy and referrals (internal and external) on issues related to housing, public assistance, immigration issues, employment, education, children’s issues and others based on individual needs.

• Serve as an internal consultant to other staff and volunteers on issues related to disabilities and the needs of clients.

• Participate in helpline coverage, as needed

• Provide assistance to clients from across the organization on requesting reasonable accommodations internally and with referral sources/collaborators.

Community Engagement & Outreach

In strong collaboration with the Community Engagement Department and in alignment with the strategic plan, the Disability Services Counselor Advocate will: ∙

• Provide training and outreach on domestic violence, disability and accessibility issues to Safe Passage staff, volunteers, community partners and other stakeholders.
• Collaborate with other service providers and agencies to promote the availability and accessibility of integrated support services for survivors with disabilities
• Foster relationships with external stakeholders and collaborators and supervise and help coordinate the work of volunteers and interns.

Program Administration

• Ensure accessibility of services to survivors with disabilities and their families by managing the organization's models and identifying gaps in access to people with disabilities.
• Arrange internal training and resources on the interconnections between domestic violence and disability through a disability justice lens.
• Maintain appropriate files, records and statistics, and submit reports and information as needed for reporting to funders, Board of Directors, and others ∙
• Participate in weekly supervision meetings, weekly counselor meetings, monthly all-staff meetings, and any task forces and committees that are relevant.
• Engage in training and professional development opportunities to increase skills and knowledge about current issues

Work Hours and Schedule

• Full time, 35 hours per week
• Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm
• Hybrid Work Schedule; atleast 3 days per week are required in office.

Hiring Requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree in social work or related field
• Minimum of two years’ experience providing counseling and/or crisis intervention

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Knowledge and understanding of domestic violence and issues affecting people with disabilities
• Skill and experience in facilitating support groups
• Ability to advocate effectively on behalf of clients using a multicultural empowerment model ∙ Familiarity with community resources and systems
• Proficiency in verbal and written communication, collaboration and organization

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $54,000.00 - $55,500.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Day shift
• Monday to Friday
• Weekends as needed

Language:

• Spanish (Preferred)

Ability to Commute:

• Northampton, MA 01060 (Required)

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Northampton, MA 01060

Salary : $54,000 - $55,500