Tenant Counseling Internship Application

Tenant Counseling Internship Application

We’re so happy your applying to volunteer with the Tenants Union!

Process to apply:

1. Fill out an application
2. Mail or email your application to:

1. You will hear back from us about the next steps in the process!

The next training cycle takes place in June, 2012. Applications are due by May 18, 2012.

If you have any questions at any point, don’t hesitate to contact us.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Date:

Name:

Mailing Address:

Best phone to reach you:Alternate Phone:

E-mail:

School name and major/minor/program (if applicable):

If you’re a student, please list a detailed description of any school internship or volunteer hours requirements:

How did you hear about the Tenants Union and our program?

AVAILABILITY

We ask Interns to commit to a minimum of 3 hours each week. Will you be able to commit to this?

(please circle one)

YesNoHow many hours would you prefer to volunteer each week?

We ask interns to commit to a minimum of 6 months with the TU with the option to stay longer. Could you commit to 6 months?

Yes NoComments:

Our next training will take place in June. Please see the training schedule attached to this application. Will this schedule work for you?

YesNoPlease comment on any conflicts you foresee:

Please mark the times you are generally available on weekdays between 9 am-7 pm:

Comments:

PERSONAL RESPONSES

As an intern with the TU, the majority of your work would be as a tenant rights counselor. You would listen a tenant’s story and questions, keep track of the details, identify the applicable housing issues, and explain complex concepts in ways that are useful to the tenant. Interns are trained in landlord-tenant law and supported in counseling. As an intern, you would work on the front lines of the tenant rights movement to empower tenants with the knowledge to keep their families safety housed.

Why do you want to intern with the Tenants Union? (Why do you care about housing justice? What draws you to the TU as an organization?)

What life experience, educational background, employment, and/or volunteer experience have prepared you for the work of tenant rights counseling?

Many of the tenants we work with are people who are low-income, people with limited English proficiency, people with disabilities, and people facing a number of barriers in navigating and asserting their rights. Please tell us how you would approach a counseling session with a tenant who faces barriers in asserting their rights.

How do you think racism, economic injustice, and other forms of oppression are connected to housing injustice?

Please list other organizations, clubs, or relevant activities or work you are active in:

What would you like to learn and gain from the experience of interning with the TU?

The TU embraces the values of dignity and respect. In order to help us create a space where all volunteers, interns, TU members and staff feel respected and acknowledged, you have the option to tell us about how you identify in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, language, country of origin, ability/disability, sexuality, generation/age, socioeconomic class background, or any identities that are meaningful to you. (This question is optional).

What gender pronoun(s) do you use or what pronouns do you prefer? (i.e. “she/her”, “him/his”, “they/their”…)

Is there anything else you would like us to know about you?

REFERENCES

Please list the names of two people who can tell us about your skills, responsibility, and ability to connect with people from identities and backgrounds different from your own.

Thank you for applying!

Please send your application to Stina and we will be in touch to schedule an interview!

Stina Janssen
Tenants Union of Washington State
5425 B Rainier Ave. S
Seattle, WA 98118

Phone: 206722.6848x102
Email:

INTERNSHIP Training Schedule

Summer 2012

SESSION 1: Orientation, Residential Landlord Tenant Act, Repairs
Saturday, June 9: 10:00 am-4:00 pm (Lunch provided)
SESSION 2: Repairs, Deposits
Tuesday, June 12: 6:00 pm-8:30 pm (snacks provided)
SESSION 3: Deposits, Eviction, Retaliation, Discrimination and Fair Housing

Tuesday, June 19: 6:00 pm-8:30 pm (snacks provided)
SESSION 4: Referrals, Counseling Practices, Membership & Campaigns, TU Database, Celebration!

Tuesday, June 26, 6:00 pm-8:30 pm (snacks provided)
ONE-ON-ONE EVALUATIONS

Scheduled individually, one 2-hour appointment that takes place between 10:00 am-6:00 pm, Monday through Friday in the last week of June and first week of July

OBSERVATION

Interns observe staff hotline counselors and debrief calls
One or more appointments (2- 3 hrs each) scheduled individually during the first and second weeks of July
OBSERVED COUNSELING

Begin tenant rights counseling with staff support
Regular individual schedule of a weekly 3-hour shift begins: mid to late July

• All trainings take place at the Tenants Union office, 5425 Rainier Ave. S. Suite B, Seattle, WA 98118. Interns will complete about an hour of homework between each session, studying the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act and tenant counseling materials.

• All trainings are required. Absences will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis, and in case of an excused absence you’ll be responsible for catch-up reading.

• This schedule is subject to change (contact Stina for updates)