HOUSING ORGANIZER

EAST COLFAX COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE

East Colfax Community Collective (EC3) is a community-driven, multicultural, socio-economically diverse advocacy organization comprised of residents, local businesses and nonprofits, and allies. Our mission is to fight displacement and build collective power in our community to shape our own destiny. Our vision is to be a multicultural community where low and moderate income residents and locally-owned businesses can thrive.

HOUSING ORGANIZER DESCRIPTION:

The Housing Organizerss main focus will be: 1) to build collective power and leadership in East Colfax and Northwest Aurora so that our community can lead the housing solutions and defense we envision; and 2) to connect residents at risk of eviction to relevant emergency resources in order to fight displacement. This role is vital to the stabilization of our community and is the front line of defense to our eviction prevention work. A successful Housing Organizer has passion for connecting with and building community, advocating for equity and access in housing programs and policies, and has the organization and leadership to work independently while managing many moving pieces.

As a Housing Organizer your core responsibilities are as follows:

• Commitment to Anti-Oppression and Equal Access
  • All EC3 staff are expected to receive foundational and ongoing anti-oppression training. Staff must be ready to advocate for equity and access in all policy and community spaces in which EC3 operates.
• Tenant Organizing and Basebuilding
  • Organize with tenants and where appropriate, build tenant associations at core apartment complexes to address community identified improvements at the apartment level.
  • Provide trainings to build leadership and empower tenant leaders to drive EC3s local, regulatory, and statewide policy campaigns
  • Actively connect tenants to relevant resources, EC3s Renters Legal Clinic, and EC3s leadership spaces such as our Campaign Steering Committees.
  • Work to recruit at least 10% of those who we organize with or provide services into our leadership structures.
  • Build strong relationships with community members with the ability to foster trust and community through your daily work through in person meetings, house visits, house meetings in community, and regular one-on-ones.

• Community Navigation
  • Complete Housing Stability Intake, identify needs and areas for intervention & organizing opportunities, identify next steps & develop a housing stability plan
  • Complete emergency assistance applications and relevant benefits applications from start to finish, and identify opportunities for referrals for programs we do not manage in-house.
• Coordinate legal consults with legal partners, providing interpretation/translation as needed.
• Guide and teach community members how to manage their application within the comforts of their digital and language abilities.
• Research, connect, and provide referral opportunities for community members to access additional resources when applicable
• Support community members experiencing landlord abuses and Warranty of Habitability violations with understanding their tenant rights and options, and support them with taking the next steps to resolve their issues and organize.
• Identify opportunities to organize and engage community members through daily casework

• Program Analysis/Advocacy
• Owner of one or more of EC3s local policy campaigns and/or policy coalitions. As owner, identify needs and recruit member leaders to join and lead in these spaces.
• Identify barriers to access and voice opportunities to improve emergency assistance application processes and external referral processes for EC3 policy and process advocacy campaigns.
• Identify and document Warranty of Habitability violations, landlord abuses, source of income and fair housing discrimination, etc. to help contribute to EC3s data collection for policy advocacy purposes for legislation, department recommendations, etc.
• Participate in meetings with EC3 and partnership personnel to share knowledge and improve housing assistance programs including, but not limited to, meetings with the State of Colorado, Cities of Colorado, landlords, organizational partners, etc.
• 100% commitment to regular and ongoing data tracking and reporting to prove our impact and guide our policy campaigns

• EC3 Team Support
  • Attend assigned monthly evening meetings including, but not limited to: Legal Clinics, Monthly Membership Meetings, and Steering Committee Meetings.
  • Provide strategic support and recommendations in EC3 staff team spaces.
  • If applicable, provide interpretation and translation for fellow teammates upon request when the correct internal process is followed.
  • Work with the other EC3 organizers to foster a culture of collaboration and unified work efforts.
  • Be present for weekly assigned EC3 office hours.
  • Uphold EC3s Team Agreements with a commitment to attend EC3 All-Staff events and retreats.

CORE SKILL SET AND EXPERIENCES:

• 100% follow through on commitments
• Passion and love for East Colfax
• Detail-oriented, extensive documentation skills, organized and able to work in a multi-tasked environment
• Willing to work evenings and weekends
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, often deadline driven environment
• Ability to work independently but also collaborate well in a team setting
• Demonstrated ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds and meet with community members in their homes
• Comfortability with canvassing and door knocking
• Functional fluency in one or more foreign languages is highly preferred, specifically Spanish, French, Pulaar, Burmese, or Karen.
• Skills in problem solving, negotiations, decision-making, and mediating conflict
• Ability to develop, train, & activate community leaders
• Adherence to strict confidentiality surrounding client information and records
• Computer skills in Google Workspace, Word, Excel, and experience working with Customer Relationship Management and Case Management databases;
• One to two years related experience o…