Root & Rebound seeks a Southern California Outreach & Partnerships Coordinator AmeriCorps VISTA Member

We are excited to bring on an AmeriCorps VISTA member to increase our capacity to provide deep support and referrals to our vast caseload of direct legal service clients located in Southern California.

ABOUT ROOT & REBOUND:

Root & Rebound is a national reentry and advocacy organization that addresses racial, economic, and social inequities within the criminal justice system and the reentry process by restoring and protecting rights, dignity, and opportunities for people directly impacted by the criminal justice system. Our mission is to restore power and resources to the families and communities most harmed by mass incarceration through legal advocacy, public education, policy reform and litigation—a model rooted in the needs and expertise of people who are directly impacted. We are headquartered in Oakland, California with satellite offices in Fresno, Southern California, and Greenville, South Carolina.

Our model is three-pronged:

• Educate: Root & Rebound democratizes the law so that it serves, and ceases to harm, people directly impacted by mass incarceration. We create legal guides, toolkits, online materials, and self help tools not only for people directly impacted but for the infrastructure of agencies that can better support them.
• Advocate: Root & Rebound advocates for the protection and restoration of rights of people with records and past court-involvement, so that they can access basic needs including employment, housing, and family reunification through the only free Reentry Legal Hotline in the nation, statewide clinics, and court representation.
• Reform: Root & Rebound works to eliminate barriers to reentry, while amplifying the voices of people in reentry, by grounding our policy advocacy work in engaging a feedback loop of information and thought partnership from our clients to policymakers.

The Southern California Outreach & Partnerships Coordinator VISTA will play a major support role to the Programs and Legal Team in this critical phase of expansion, including building strong sustainable programs and strategies for regional, localized growth. This position is ideal for someone who is creative, detail-oriented, persistent in the face of roadblocks and eager to support systems-impacted individuals gain access to reentry support. Those who wish to pursue careers in the legal field and/or the nonprofit sector would be a great fit for this position.

Commitment: This is a 1-year, full-time commitment starting November 7, 2022; working Monday – Friday from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM PST; 40 hours per week, with occasional evenings/weekends. This start date is not flexible, in accordance with AmeriCorps VISTA protocols, and the position will be part of a cohort model with four other AmeriCorps VISTA members

Location: An ideal candidate would be based in or around Southern California so they can travel to local outreach events in the Southern California area, promoting Root & Rebound and our services. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, our staff are currently working remotely, with hopes to return to a hybrid work environment when it is safe to do so. This position will be onboarded remotely, with opportunities to meet in-person with team members once it is safe to do so.

Responsibilities & Duties:

Under the supervision of the Southern California Regional Director of Advocacy, responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Grow Partnerships & Leverage Community Partnerships and Volunteers within the Region:

• Track positive outcomes from legal team to disseminate to community partners;
• Disseminate county-specific communications about Root & Rebound’s services through phone calls, emails, and outreach to social service providers across the region;
• Support with the implementation of presentations and events on behalf of Root & Rebound to introduce our work to organizations, impacted people, and potential volunteers and funders;
• Build community partnerships throughout the region that are sustainable and far-reaching; and
• Create a database of partner organizations with whom R&R can cross-refer clients and co-lead programs and events;
• Call partners to liaise and provide warm referrals for clients in need of non-legal support services;
• Lead and draft California Programs external newsletter on a bi-weekly basis through MailChimp software
• Connect clients to relevant statewide events, potentially outside of the Southern California region;
• Recruit community volunteers to support with outreach, clinics, events and/or social service referrals; and
• Create a recruitment and hiring strategy for volunteers and interns to partner with Root & Rebound throughout the year.

• Support Clients within the Region:
  • Assist clients with social support resources and referrals by developing vetted resource referral lists for incarcerated callers to support their reentry plans and set them up for success;
  • Outreach to clients about upcoming appointments/clinics; check in with clients about organizations and social services to which R&R connected the client; and
  • Conduct periodic check-ins with clients who have been unresponsive.

• Develop Large-Scale Opportunities for Clients to Receive Reentry Legal Support

• Conduct outreach for regional Root & Rebound events, clinics and trainings;
• Coordinate logistics for events;
• Develop guide for clinic and event logistics, including best practices, for future clinics and events.

• Reentry Support

• Build capacity on Root & Rebound’s Reentry Hotline by providing referrals to the legal team and social services

Qualifications:

• Desire to work with people in reentry and on reentry and criminal justice issues in a dynamic and diverse team environment.
• Demonstrated commitment to social, racial, and criminal justice.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office software and Google products (Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Sheets, Google Drive).
• Excellent time-management and communication skills (written & verbal).
• Ability to balance and prioritize multiple projects in a dynamic – and hybrid – environment.
• Ability to incorporate clear direction, feedback and supervision. Excited to create structures and processes around new tasks or projects that have not been done before.
• Willingness to travel within the region, once safe and with COVID protocols
• A.A., B.A. or B.S. preferred.

Compensation:

This position is paid through AmeriCorps. It is an AmeriCorps VISTA opportunity to spend one year serving full-time to make a difference. For a full list of the benefits of service go to https://www.vistacampus.gov/in-service/benefits-service

Benefits:

For a full list of the benefits of service go to https://www.vistacampus.gov/in-service/benefits-service

Entry-level

How to Apply:

To apply for this role, complete the AmeriCorps VISTA application. Candidates will be contacted for interviews on a rolling basis until October 1, 2022. No phone calls, please.

Root & Rebound is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages applications from all qualified individuals including formerly incarcerated and/or system-involved individuals, people of color, persons with disabilities, ethnic and religious minorities, women, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and gender variant individuals.