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Flexible Schedule
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Weston, FL 33326
Are you a mother who has experience working full-time while raising children? Do you want to help other mothers trying to juggle work, family, and finances? Do you want to make a difference in the lives of children experiencing the trauma of homelessness? Is your schedule flexible? If you reside in Palm Beach, Broward, or Miami/Dade County, we need family mentors to work with families who have been approved for rental assistance. Your role as Family Mentor: You will work with a formerly homeless family (mostly single mothers) for one year to help them stay housed. - Help one family for a full year. - Initial responsibilities are to assist the head-of-household in finding affordable housing, and sometimes also assist with completing our application and securing all necessary documents. You will be given a family that resides (or wants to) in the same County you do. * Help secure housing the family can afford near good schools, work, and needed services, * Assist the family in any other activities related to housing such as turning on utilities, accessing low-cost or no-cost furniture/clothing/kitchenware etc. * Commit to mentoring this family for a full year which includes weekly phone calls and monthly visits to the home. Complete our Metrics form as needed which requires knowledge of how the family is doing along ten areas. * Familiarize yourself with our Family workbook and assign reading sections and activities as needed. Follow up with activities to provide guidance. * Assist the family throughout the year in crisis management. Crises are common after having experiencing homelessness. * Provide a solid mix of friendship/support with direct advice and honest feedback. * Your goal is to ensure the family does not become homeless again. This is a relationship that may extend long past the required year of mentoring. * Connect the family with any helpful community resources. You will be given a guide to assist you however it is a plus if you are already familiar with some resources. * Some of the families accepted are very young mothers who may require more training than others. * The investment of time depends on you, however usually the first three months of mentorship are the most time intensive for mentors. - You will be given access to an "emergency purse" that you can access if the family is facing a crisis that could result in losing their housing. Families are not told about this part of the program and should not be told. You may request funds, up to a certain amount in case of emergency. Qualifications: You need to be able to relate to this family on an equal level and fully understand the predicament of single mothers working full-time while raising children on a small budget. - Preference is given to women who worked full-time while raising children, as well as women who have achieved a measure of success and happiness despite these challenges. - Pass a background check. Volunteers with prior convictions will often be accepted as long as there are no convictions for child abuse. Tickets and other minor infractions are not a concern. If you have a concern about your background, we urge you to discuss it with us before we run your background check. - Having experienced single motherhood is a plus although we recognize that all mothers are often completely in charge of all child-rearing. - This is a secular program that relies on secular tools. Counseling families on faith, or their relationship with a higher power is not part of the program. You need to be able to refrain from giving families guidance on religion. - You should have strong interpersonal skills and be able to work well with people from diverse backgrounds. - Candidates should have strong organizational skills and be able to keep track of client metrics, submit metrics to the Coalition on a regular basis, and maintain a schedule with the family. - Knowledge of local assistance programs is a plus although you will also be provided with that information. Some assistance programs can be challenging to access. - You should be able to share advice, short-cuts, tools, and resources with each family. Expectations: - Attend a four-hour training with existing family mentors, - Familiarize yourself with our workbook and the resources within. - Shadow an existing mentor for a period to observe interactions - Be responsible for communicating with your assigned family by phone, and through regular visits as indicated. - Make difficult decisions when necessary. For example, look for and report signs of child abuse. - Make sound financial decisions about when a family requires economic assistance. - Have a flexible schedule that allows you to spend more time with the family in the first three months of the year. Ready to Make a Difference? Send your resume and a short statement of interest to: Laura Hansen, CEO, lh@homelessfl.org Coalition to End Homelessness Changing lives. Restoring dignity. Ending homelessness. More Information: We need family mentors in Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami/Dade Counties in South Florida. Our "Pay the Rent First" program helps families with children, who are experiencing homelessness to access permanent housing when at least one family member has a stable full-time job. The cost of this program is much lower than any other - due in part to our use of volunteers to mentor these families. Although the program is available to all families experiencing homelessness including intact families (Mother and Father) or single fathers, program participants thus far have been single mothers. As a result, we are looking for women, ideally women who have been single mothers and managed a household, a job, and children. We will also consider dedicated volunteers who have never been single parents but who have experience juggling a full-time job and motherhood. Our single mothers are much more likely to relate to a mentor who has had similar experiences and who has been able to achieve some measure of success and happiness despite the challenges of working full-time while raising children. While family mentors are needed in Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties, our priority is to recruit mentors in Palm Beach and Miami/Dade counties as we already have four great mentors in Broward County. Volunteers should have sufficient time to devote, care deeply about helping mothers and children experiencing homelessness, and be responsible enough to work independently with little formal supervision. We believe there is nothing that can prepare you for how difficult single-motherhood with a full-time job is except doing it. Not all people who want to mentor families will be accepted. We will give you a quiz and meet with you at your home. Our goal and yours must be to make certain that these moms (often young) learn how to maintain housing so that neither they nor their children become homeless again. We also need women with enough street smarts to know when someone is just trying to get a little extra that they do not actually need or qualify for, and when they really need help. Families may not be entirely honest and you should be able to recognize signs of other problems besides those they readily admit. The first week is the most difficult because will need to find housing they can afford which is almost impossible in South Florida. The first week you will try to help the mother find something she can afford, get some furniture if needed, make sure the space is appropriate for the child or children, make sure the child or children are enrolled in school or child care, help the mother gather documents we need such as pay stubs, birth certificates for the kids, school records, pediatric records, make sure that mom has a social security number for her children, and get more financial information from her, etc. We have strict criteria for families experiencing homelessness. At least one adult needs to have stable full-time employment. According to the Federal Government, housing is only affordable when all housing costs (rent and utilities in this case) are 30% or less of your gross income. In this program, families are allowed to spend up to 40% of gross income on housing but that may be insufficient to find housing. Families and mentors must be open to considering renting a room, having a roommate, and other less costly housing arrangements. Many mothers may be slightly naive. They want what they see on T.V., and explaining to them what they can afford, although necessary, is not always easy. In the early stages of mentorship mentors must establish expectations with mothers. After the first week, you are required to call the family and speak to them at least once a week. You must reach them. If they do not call you back, go over and see what is happening. Once a month you must visit them at their home for a scheduled visit and complete paperwork and make notes. Several times during the year you must also do surprise visits. Some of the fields in this form may not be pertinent to this opportunity. In that case, please rely on the information provided here. Please submit your resume, our volunteer application which is available on our website ( www.homelessfl.org) and a cover letter explaining why you are qualified for this position to lh@homelessfl.org. The next Family Mentor training is scheduled for Saturday July 26, from 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m. in Broward County. Additional trainings will be scheduled throughout the year. The "Pay the Rent First" program is focused on helping homeless families get housed and more importantly, stay housed. Only a small percentage of homeless families are eligible for this program. They must have one adult working full-time and children under 18. Families that qualify have enough income to pay rent every month but they do not have enough for first, last, and security. Some low-income landlords may require an additional security deposit if anyone in the family has a criminal history, has been evicted in the past, or has a very low credit score. While this is a long-term volunteer position, it does not require a lot of time on a weekly basis. Ideally the volunteer will be able to work with the family for a full twelve months. Changing mentors halfway through the year can be detrimental. The goal is that at the end of 12 months the family is in position to stay housed for the rest of their lives. The ideal volunteer is compassionate, and also realistic. We will help the volunteer find resources to assist the family in other areas (aside from housing) which most of them will require. The volunteer will work with the family and get to know them and their strengths and weaknesses. Time is the most precious thing any of us has, we appreciate your sacrifice and willingness to help others.
Date Posted: Jul 7, 2025
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Flexible Schedule
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Virtual Opportunity
We are primarily a volunteer organization. We need a volunteer, virtual works well for us, who can undertake certain projects. We are a volunteer-driven organization and therefore everything we complete is done by volunteers. We have hundreds of projects going at any given time and always much more work than can be done. We need help with everything from simple thank you letters, to re-drafting program manuals, and website maintenance. Some of our projects offer certificates of learning in various fields. We also have a stipend program for volunteers who have been homeless for any period of time in their past. You can contact us directly at lh@homelessfl.org or view our website at homelessfl.org which also has our volunteer application. Whatever your skills are, wherever you live, we can keep you busy doing things you enjoy, or help you learn a new skill.
Date Posted: Jun 15, 2025
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Flexible Schedule
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Virtual Opportunity
We are looking for a few gregarious and out-going individuals who already members of community groups to represent us. All our current volunteers, and our one staff person are too busy with work to attend meetings in the community where we might make contacts, share information, meet like-minded individuals and generally get the word out about our organization, how we help people experiencing homelessness, and our current needs. This individual would also be encouraged to join other like-minded groups locally and around the U.S. working with the homeless and representing us. For example, if the National Coalition for the Homeless has a committee that meets once a month via zoom, this representative could attend and report back to us about what they learned at the meeting. This opportunity can be done virtually or can be done partially virtually and partially in person, it depends on the volunteer. We have listed virtually but if the volunteerb is local wants to attend in-person meetings that is also acceptable. Because both you, and our organization will invest some time in your training our hope is to find someone who will be able to be of service for the foreseeable future (at minimum two years). The long term commitment is due to the fact that you will be making relationships on our behalf and we want to keep those relationships. We would need to find someone for you to train to replace you and that takes time. The ideal candidate: will be a sociable individual already active in at least one community group such as a Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, Kiwanis, or another organization involved with issues that impact homelessness, affordable housing, supporting those living in poverty, etc. will care deeply about the plight of the homeless, particularly homeless chldren. will have time (probably 8 hours total) for training on homelessness that will help them represent us in the community. Will represent us well, represent our true beliefs and convictions. We understand that the person we are looking for probably is representing their own employer/business as well and do not see that as a conflict as long as their own business or employer does not harm the community we serve.
Date Posted: Jun 15, 2025
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Flexible Schedule
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Virtual Opportunity
Our website was created by our Vice President when he began working with us in 2023. He was not the Vice President at that time and now has many other demands on his time. In addition to working with us he has a full time plus job and four children. He has told us he is willing to give access to our website to any volunteer with the proper skills and education. We desperately need someone to do this for us. We have many events and opportunities as well as a lot of information pertinent to the population that needs to be added to our website. I do not believe this person has to be local as long as they can access our website and receive documents by email. Long term we would like to make some larger changes to our website but in the immediate future we just need to upload some changes. This volunteer should be a person with the formal skills to edit and maintain a website, with at least one example of a website they have created or maintained. This person should also have sufficient time to invest in this activity. There will be weeks when nothing is needed but there will also be weeks when eight hours are needed. When the volunteer initially applies, if they are accepted, they may receive quite a few requests for updates. The volunteer needs to be able to prioritize and communicate with us regarding what can be done and in what time frame. Ideally, this is a longer term commitment, lasting until a replacement can be found. We use Go Daddy and our website is homelessfl.org
Date Posted: Jun 15, 2025
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Flexible Schedule
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Weston, FL 33326
JOIN OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS - Volunteer Treasurer / CFO Coalition to End Homelessness - Serving Broward, Palm Beach & Miami-Dade www.homelessfl.org Are you a finance professional looking to make a meaningful impact? The Coalition to End Homelessness is seeking a committed and skilled individual to join our Board of Directors as Volunteer Treasurer / Chief Financial Officer (CFO). This is a high-impact opportunity to guide the financial strategy of a mission-driven organization helping families in South Florida transition out of homelessness and into stable housing. WHO WE ARE - We believe homelessness is an economic problem - one that can be solved by providing critical financial support to working families in crisis. We provide first, last, and security deposits and follow through with services to ensure families stay housed. YOUR ROLE AS TREASURER / CFO - Chair the Finance Committee and lead fiscal oversight, Guide budgeting, reporting, and compliance efforts, Support audits and liaise with external accountants, Advise the board on financial planning and sustainability, Promote financial transparency and stewardship. IDEAL QUALIFICATIONS - Experience in finance, accounting, or nonprofit fiscal management, CPA or similar credentials preferred (but not required), Familiarity with nonprofit tax filings (e.g., 990), Commitment to equity and community-driven solutions, Willing to contribute 5 -10 hours/month BOARD MEMBER EXPECTATIONS - Attend quarterly meetings and join at least one committee (in this case Chair the Finance Committee), Participate in fundraising and donor engagement, Help represent the Coalition in your networks, Serve a renewable two-year term, Make a personal or sourced financial contribution Ready to Make a Difference? Send your resume and a short statement of interest to: Laura Hansen, CEO, lh@homelessfl.org Coalition to End Homelessness Changing lives. Restoring dignity. Ending homelessness.
Date Posted: Jul 7, 2025
