PAID TRAINING AT CVH-COMMUNITY VOICES HEARD/EAST HARLEM

Community Voices Heard (CVH) is seeking individuals interested in
participating in a paid Organizer Training Program at one of the most
successful New York grassroots economic justice organizations.

Trainees learn the craft of organizing through taking on real
responsibilities to help advance an actual campaign. This cycle of
trainees will be integrated into CVH?s successful Public Housing
Preservation & Improvement Campaign and will focus their outreach
efforts in public housing developments around the five boroughs of NYC.
Trainees will be trained, and mentored by a combination of CVH staff
with overall supervision coming from the Public Housing Campaign Director.

The program will include on-the-job training and field practice in the
following basics of community organizing (and more!):

? Recruitment: bringing new people into an organization through door
knocking, surveying, etc.
? One-on-Ones: learning about people?s self-interest and why they might
get involved
? Mobilization: moving people to action ? to come to a meeting, a
workshop, a demonstration, etc.
? Meeting Facilitation: keeping to an agenda and accomplishing goals set
forth
? Direct Action: confronting power in a non-violent way (e.g. marches,
rallies, etc.)
? Campaign Strategy: figuring out the best ways to move power figures to
make changes
? Campaign Development: planning out a series of actions and activities
to accomplish your goals
The program is four months initially with a possibility of an extension.
Trainees will learn by doing; they will be instructed in the basics at
the office, sent to the field to practice daily, and return to reflect
on their experiences.
Organizing requires long and late hours. An average day starts at 11AM
and goes until 9PM, but might start earlier or end later when necessary
for the work. Some weekend work is also required ? occasional Saturdays
and Sunday evenings.
During the final weeks of the program, trainees will be assisted in
crafting their resumes and cover letters to properly reflect the
experience and skills gained, and will be given guidance at seeking out
other organizing and/ or outreach jobs for application for long-term
employment.
Organizational Background:

CVH is a 15 year-old membership organization of low-income people based
in NYC and also working in other NY areas. We work on economic justice,
job creation, welfare, public housing, economic development, and access
to education and training services. CVH uses base-building,
direct-action, grassroots-driven research, voter education &
mobilization, and coalition building to lead campaigns to win benefits
for our membership of low-income families.

CVH?s Public Housing Preservation & Improvement Campaign is about 3
years old. In 2007, the campaign won $3.5 million in operating
subsidies from the state government for NYC public housing and got the
Governor to sign a law that will ultimately bring another $47 million
into the NYC Housing Authority?s (NYCHA) budget. In 2008 - 09, the
campaign again secured $3.5 million from the state, $18 million from the
City to help save community centers, met with various NYCHA and HUD
officials and did effective media work to help keep public housing
issues and concerns in the news. In 2010, we will be continuing the
battle for increased resources to public housing, looking at how HUD
changes will affect public housing and work on improvements to the
resident participation structures.

Over the years, CVH has run multiple Organizer Training Programs.
Graduates of the program have gone on to become organizers at other
organizing groups in New York City, gotten jobs as outreach workers with
social service organizations, or been hired as full-time organizers at CVH.

Qualifications:

? Current or recent past residency in public housing is required for
this program!
? Interest in building community power & fostering the leadership of others.
? Comfort in talking to strangers and engaging them in dialogue about
community issues.
? Hard worker with interest in rolling up ones sleeves and diving in!
? Eager to learn new things and apply them immediately.
? Ready to go door-to-door in public housing, knocking on doors, and
recruiting members.
? Ability to work independently, yet take direction, according to goals
of the organization.
? Spanish language skills are strongly desired, but not required.

To Apply:

Please send or drop off resume and cover letter (including a statement
of why you are interested in the program and why you believe you are a
good candidate for it) to Mo George ? Public Housing Campaign
cvh@cvhaction.org. If emailing, make sure to put ?Organizer Training
Program? in the subject line. If you have any questions please contact
Mo George at (212) 860-6001 ext 27.

CVH is an equal opportunity employer. People of color, women, LGBTQ
individuals, and people with current or past experience receiving public
assistance or residing in public housing are strongly encouraged to
apply. For more information please check out our web page at:
www.CVHaction.org.

Interview Process:

The interview process will last about 3 hours and include a personal
interview and simulated outreach experience (e.g. quick training in
outreach and subsequent exercise surveying people in the streets,
knocking on doors to speak to residents, etc.).

Submit resumes no later than ? Wednesday March 10th, 2010.

Interviews will take place on the following dates. You will only need to
attend ONE session

1) Monday - March 15th - 12pm ? 3pm
2) Tuesday ? March 16th - 12pm ? 3pm
3) Tuesday ? March 16th - 5pm ? 8pm

Please select a session and state your selection in your cover letter.

The program will start April 5th, 2010, and will last through the end of
July, with a possibility for longer.

Salary / Benefits:

Trainees will receive a Salary of $543 weekly before taxes (the
equivalent to approximately $14/ hour) on an every other week schedule.
Healthcare (medical, dental and vision) premiums will be covered
in-full by the organization during employment. Trainee benefits include
two personal days; sick days accrued at a rate of one per month; and
major holidays off (as outlined in CVH?s Personnel Policies). Trainees
will also be provided with full reimbursement for monthly metro cards to
cover transportation costs.

--
Monique "Mo" George
Public Housing Campaign Director
Community Voices Heard
115 East 106th St., 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10029
Tel: (212) 860-6001
Cell: (718) 612-0922
Fax: (212) 996-9481
http://www.CVHaction.org
?When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed.
But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak.?
Audre Lorde