The Contact Center Counselor is an awake and alert overnight
position primarily responsible for answering the 24 hour hotline that provides
the first (and often only) contact that many victims and others have with the
House of Ruth Maryland. The Counselor offers customer service, information and
referral, crisis intervention counseling, and technical assistance in response
to telephone, e-mail, fax, and HRM website inquiries. The Contact Center Counselor is the sole responder
during the overnight hours and as such is an expert in the dynamics of intimate
partner violence and the House of Ruth Maryland’s philosophy, programs, and
services. Callers to the Contact Center
comprise individuals from the full range of cultural and socioeconomic
sectors. Victims and those calling on
behalf of victims are scared, hopeful, worried, angry, concerned, and
hurt. The Contact Center Counselor must
have the maturity and skills to work with people in many different capacities,
and must have a firm understanding of trauma, the effects of trauma, engaging
traumatized people, and must be comfortable working in a Voluntary Services
program model. The Counselor is a
creative, energetic problem solver who exercises initiative to help callers and
is a skilled professional who has excellent crisis intervention skills
including empathy, compassion, listening, patience, and the ability to assess
each victim’s situation relative to lethality, assist them in making a safety
plan and engage them in appropriate services. The Counselor is also responsible
for completing data entry that Contact Center and Shelter staff were unable to
complete during busier daytime shifts.
- Live response to calls during
designated shifts. This position is
responsible for the Overnight shift 12am (Midnight) – 8 am, Monday through
Friday.
- Makes Shelter and Hotel
acceptance decisions.
- Provides crisis intervention,
empathy and immediate safety planning to victims at risk of serious injury
from intimate partner violence.
- Provides compassion, support,
patience, information and referrals to all victims, families, friends,
professionals, donors and other individual callers during designated
shifts.
- Provides timely and accurate
data entry related to each call. When necessary, will enter documentation
of calls that were responded to by volunteers.
- Assists with uncompleted data
entry from daytime Hotline shifts and the Police Lethality Program.
- Performs other duties as
assigned to assist Weinberg staff, including but not limited to occasional
face to face crisis counseling for shelter residents, assessment of walk
in victims, and front office backup.
- Maintains and refreshes the
resource directory to ensure that it is accurate and up to date.
- Responds to requests received
through the HRM website, Info Line, and social media.
- Participates in Contact Center
Team meetings.
- Provides relief and back-up
coverage in emergency and urgent situations if required.