Crisis Advocate

Why work with YWCA Seattle King Snohomish?

YWCA SKS is the region’s largest non-profit organization with a 120+ year legacy, focused on the needs of women, with programs serving 7,000 people each year. When you work with YWCA, you make a difference.

We’re women and BIPOC-led, family-centered, and supportive of employees. As a full-time YWCA employee (30+ hours), you’ll enjoy a benefits package including medical insurance, generous vacation, holiday, sick leave plans, and an outstanding retirement plan. Put your passion for racial equity and social justice to work – apply today

What You'll Do

Angeline’s is a Day Center for homeless women serving 75 women daily based on a harm reduction, housing first model. This program offers showers, meals, laundry facilities, mental health counseling, health care, classes, and activities. The goal of the Day Center is to build trusting relationships to move women out of homelessness. The Crisis Advocate will provide supportive services that help participants identify strengths, assess their needs and develop action plans to encourage stabilization.

This position has a social justice component that requires critical thinking through the lens of racism and intersections with poverty. Knowing the core principles of antiracism and grounding those principles in everyday work are required job skills and core values. As an equal opportunity employer, we highly encourage people of color to apply.

Schedule: Friday - Tuesday 11:00 am - 8:00 pm

Expectations of your role:

• Provides a welcoming, safe environment by building trust and professional rapport with clients
• Staffs the front desk to welcome women into the space, monitor cameras, and respond to callers and visitors
• Offers support and encouragement to clients transitioning out of homelessness
• Assists in negotiating the social service system, obtaining personal identification, applying for public assistance benefits, enrolling in Medicaid Benefits, and connecting clients to Employment Specialists at Worksource
• Assists with housing applications, advocates by connecting with landlords, and assists in housing search
• Provides crisis intervention and de-escalation as needed and models positive behavior
• Coordinates group activities and community meetings with the clients
• Must be able to maintain accurate and complete records
• Reads relevant documents to keep current with internal events, policies, and procedures (logs, newsflashes, and previous night’s records)
• Monitors outside activity, ensuring sidewalks are safe and clear.
• Participates in staff meetings and trainings as directed and collaborates with Housing Support Specialist and Rapid Rehousing Case Manager
• Encourages a supportive community environment by coordinating activities and workshops to meet the needs of clients
• Actively engages in agency-wide Race & Social Justice Initiative (RSJI) and strives for racially equitable outcomes; takes responsibility for creating and maintaining a safe and welcoming community by making room for people of color, trans and gender-non-conforming folks, and other populations who routinely encounter systemic oppressions
• Incorporates the YWCA’s Social Justice Initiative by understanding how racism, sexism, classism, and other oppressions intersect and are embedded in institutions.

Must have's to be successful:

• At least two years of direct social service and experience working in a shelter setting or with homeless population strongly desired
• Ability to work effectively and empathically with clients who have mental health and chemical-related issues
• Must be able to respond in an emergency situation, ensuring correct emergency and safety procedures are followed
• Ability to engage with, possess a positive attitude around, provide an empathy client-centered approach, build professional rapport with, and helping relationships with our client group
• Commitment to diversity including sensitivity to the needs of clients, staff, and volunteers from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds
• Strong organizational and record-keeping skills, obtain CPR/First Aid certification 30 days after hire
• Ability and willingness to work independently, be proactive, solve problems and take initiative as well as work in and add value to a team environment, pitching in as needed to "get the job done” and to make sound judgments without on-site supervision
• Ability to maintain confidentiality
• Basic level of computer skills critical including use of database, word processing, spreadsheet software (Microsoft Office Suite including, Word, Outlook, and Excel)
• Experience working with communities of color and people from different cultures than your own.

Hours, Rate, and Benefits

• Hourly Rate: $23.50
• Hours: 40 hours per week
• Excellent benefits package including medical insurance, retirement plan, plus generous vacation, holiday, and sick leave plans
• At the time of hire, employees may enroll voluntarily in the Fidelity 403b Plan
• After two years of employment, employees are eligible to participate in the YWCA Retirement Fund

Physical Requirements

• All positions at YWCA of Seattle King Snohomish are exposed to clients who have experienced or are experiencing trauma in various forms including but not limited to: domestic violence, sexual violence, homelessness, unemployment, financial hardship, etc. As a result, staff are at risk of secondary trauma. Employees are encouraged to seek external support and maintain self-care when working indirectly or directly with clients
• Continuously uses speech and hearing abilities in exchanging information with clients, agency staff, employers, representatives of community organizations, and other individuals in the community
• Frequently sits for extended periods while performing desktop activities
• Continuously stands and walks in performing duties in Center
• Frequently uses hands and wrists, fingering, handling, grasping, and reaching in using telephones, computers, kitchen equipment, donations, and supplies
• Occasionally pushes and pulls up to ten pounds
• Frequently lifts and carries supplies weighing up to 50 pounds

*Continuously = Over 80% of the time * Frequently = 20-80% * Occasionally = Under 20%

YWCA encourages applicants with a variety of experiences to apply

At YWCA, we recognize that lived expertise is a powerful asset. This refers to the insights, knowledge, and skills developed by those who have navigated systems and experienced inequity.

Valuing lived expertise helps build trust with program participants, develop culturally responsive programs, and break down barriers to equity. It enriches our collective understanding and enhances our ability to serve communities that are furthest from opportunity.

Mental Health Considerations

All employees of the YWCA interact with clients who have experienced or are experiencing trauma in various forms, including but not limited to, racial trauma, domestic violence, sexual violence, homelessness, unemployment, and financial hardship. As a result, employees are at risk of secondary trauma. We encourage employees to seek support inside and outside the workplace and maintain self-care routines.

Equal Opportunity Employment

YWCA Seattle King Snohomish is an Equal Opportunity Employer. To read more about this, view the EEO is the Law Poster and this EEO is the Law Poster Supplement .

For more information

Contact us at with any questions or if you need accommodation for your application.