Live-In
Volunteers
While
there is no easy or complete way to describe the job of the live-in volunteer,
we have attempted below to describe our philosophy of work, as well as
to outline some of the job categories in which all of the staff team works.
EHouse
Philosophy of Work
Our
mission is to provide housing and support to women and their children
while living with us. Our primary focus is on assisting them in developing
the necessary skills (e.g., time management) and resources (e.g., financial
savings) in order to transition into independent housing within a year
of moving into Elizabeth House. Our parallel focus is on the coordination
of a co-operative living community and home environment. Everything else
is secondary to this dual focus.
The most critical responsibility each member of staff, paid or volunteer,
is charged with is the support and development of the individual within
the context of the support and maintenance of the House community and
facility. This is what we mean when we talk about getting “back
to basics”. Without accomplishing these primary, fundamental and
yet complex responsibilities, we cannot ethically expand our job functions
to include those duties we enjoy, or even those tasks that we as individuals
feel are necessary.
As a team, we will hopefully keep each other accountable to carrying-out
our mission with integrity and commitment. When we question each other
or ourselves about what or how we have been carrying-out our work, we
will do so with care and honesty and receive the feedback with openness
and a desire to do what is best for the House overall.
Similarly, when we come up against a policy or decision we do not agree
with, we are called to discuss this on whatever level necessary (with
the Team as a whole, with one’s direct supervisor, or with the Director).
We make decisions among the staff team as much by consensus as possible,
however we do not always all agree. Once a decision is made, it is our
responsibility to “tow the party-line”, so to speak, and demonstrate
a positive and team-player attitude to the rest of the House and external
community. When the obstacles seem too large or unacceptable, we are each
given the choice of moving on from involvement at EHouse.
Finally, all staff are expected to work a complete 40 hour week, unless
otherwise pre-arranged. There will always be more than 40 hours’
worth of work per staff member, and sometimes we go over that number.
However, no one is expected to work more than the 40 without being given
compensatory time-off. Individuals are expected to keep track of their
own hours and work a regular schedule. If at any time it appears to a
staff member’s supervisor that she is not working her full 40 hours
(or whatever number has been pre-arranged), she will be asked to keep
a written record of her hours and how they have been spent.
Description of Tasks
The
following is intended as a rough outline of the Resident Volunteer’s
duties. Other responsibilities may be assigned, as appropriate, by the
Director or direct supervisor.
Participate
in the Staff-On-Call Rotation
- Perform
morning walk-through of House on a daily basis, checking for general
House upkeep, including: items left laying around, laundry left in basement,
chores completed, etc.
- Check
on upkeep of staff areas, including staff office, janitor closet, sacristy,
etc.
- Respond
to areas needing attention either by doing it oneself or following-up
with responsible party to address the situation
- Act
as front-line respondent to all resident requests of staff, except those
requiring the attention of a specific staff person. In the latter case,
let the resident know to go directly to the other staff member and then
alert the staff member to this redirection, as well
- Act
as primary "hospitality host" to donors and visitors, delegating
this responsibility to other staff or residents only when absolutely
necessary because of a schedule conflict
- Act
as primary liaison with facility repair people, delegating this responsibility
to other staff or residents only when absolutely necessary because of
a schedule conflict
- Assist
other members of staff during their on-call weeks as able
- In
general, plan to work longer hours during the On-Call week; this responsibility
necessitates staff presence in the morning to get House in order, during
the day to address issues and deal with outside community, and in the
evenings to follow-up with residents and put House to bed
- This
responsibility absolutely requires thoroughness, commitment, self-discipline,
confrontation and problem-solving skills, attention to detail, organization
and an ability to see what needs to be done.
Serving as Staff-On-Call, when done properly, usually means the majority
of the work week is dedicated to this job. Every other responsibility
at the House is secondary to this one, and yet staff should be able
to effectively serve as staff-on-call while also accomplishing their
regular job duties. Staff must plan their work week accordingly, in
advance.
Participate
in the Life of the House
- Interaction
with the individuals (especially the adults) living at EHouse should
occur on a regular basis. By regular basis, we
mean that a few weeks should not go by without ever at least asking
a resident, so how are you and the like. If that much time goes
by between interactions, it is the responsibility of the staff member
to seek-out the resident
- Always
remain professional. Talking about one's love life or delving into personal
issues on the part of the staff should be avoided. Personal details
should be revealed only when relevant to the support of the resident.
Becoming "friends" with the residents is a tricky proposition;
rather, it is the staff's responsibility to remain on good, openly communicative
terms with all residents, NOT to become friends of the residents. All
residents should be treated similarly irregardless of whether staff
like them or not, etc.
- Serve
to encourage and support the individual without negatively affecting
the larger House community. While mindful of the individual's needs,
we must always ask, "and how will this affect the rest of the House?"
and make decisions in line with what the House needs over what the individual
needs
- Perform
the duties of Support Person (as described in that procedure), seeking
advice and assistance from other staff members as necessary
- Staff
in residence at EHouse will participate in the chore and cooking rotations
- Casual
and formal interactions with House residents should take between 1/3
and 1/2 of one's working hours. Each staff member uses her own measure
of what is "hang out" time and what is actually work time
in a casual interaction. One distinction between time-on and time-off
at the House is in the purpose of the interaction: does it meet the
needs of the staff member or the needs of the House and residents?
Manage
all volunteer-related affairs of the House, delegating to other staff
as necessary
- Envision
and implement a volunteer recruitment plan on a regular (at least every
three months) basis
- Respond
to all incoming requests by potential volunteers (send application packets,
follow-up with phone call)
- Conduct
orientation with all new volunteers prior to first volunteer experience,
unless volunteers come in group (in which case the entire group should
receive some brief orientation)
- Place
volunteers in appropriate positions, additions and other information
that affects specific residents with whom specific staff work/support
- Manage
active volunteers through regular (at least every 3 visits to the House)
interaction and follow-up with volunteers
- Problem-solve
volunteer issues as they arise, keeping a written record of the incident
and solution. Engage the assistance of other staff as necessary to problem-solve
effectively. Demonstrate the ability to see a problem before it arises,
when possible
- Coordinate
regular (at least annually, if not more often) volunteer recognition
events to both bring volunteers together as larger community as well
as to acknowledge their generosity and help retain them as active volunteers
- Distribute
volunteer birthday cards on time to all active and temporarily inactive
volunteers
Coordinate
Monday Evening Activities
- Supply
a minimum of three volunteers per House meeting
- Facilitate
activities, especially in the winter/indoor months, to effectively engage
both the children and volunteers in structured interactive play time.
These activities should be fully prepared before the start of dinner
so that: (1) volunteers can be properly greeted/oriented/visited with
when they arrive, and (2) you are available to help smoothly transition
the children from dining room to play areas
- Review
ground rules and expectations with kids and volunteers prior to every
Monday evening activities time
- Supervise
or train another volunteer to supervise the evening's activities, including
intervention to prevent the escalation of misbehavior into mayhem (!),
modeling the House parenting culture (e.g., 1-2-3, timeouts) and reinforcing
the rules of the House (e.g., inside voices, walking feet, respect,
etc.)
- Enlist
the support of kids, volunteers and (last resort)moms to clean-up after
play time and before the backpats session
- Facilitate
re-gathering of children/volunteers/moms for kids’ backpats session
immediately following the meeting. Either run the session oneself or
identify a competent facilitator to stand-in.
Office
Assistance
- Record
and respond to incoming phone calls on the main House phone line, delegating
phone calls to appropriate staff when necessary
- Fax,
photo copy, perform database upkeep, process thank you letters and other
correspondence as needed
Prospective
Resident Preparation
- Participate
in prospective resident interviews
- Assist
in room preparation
Print
Live-In Volunteer Application click
here for (pdf) click
here for (word)
Download
Adobe Acrobat Reader Free
Back
to Top
|
