Children's Program at Community Connections

The Children's Program at Community Connections is child-centered, family-focused, and community based. Community Support Specialists meet the child/youth and family in their community locales, learn the values and perspectives of the family and joining with them in affirming skills, abilities, talents and hopes. Problems are recognized in context and addressed through collaborative partnerships with the families and their support networks. Children are seen as often as necessary to achieve their stated goals and objectives.

Community Connections usually do not take more than 1 student per year. Community Connections asks that applicants be seriously committed to the job, and asks that interns be responsible and follow through with the determined time commitment. Interns work with child and families with mental health issues who are from disadvantaged neighborhoods. Intern responsibilities include gathering and organizing data and supplies, as well as organizing and helping with support groups. These activities give interns a lot of exposure to what Community Connections does.

Community Connections works very close to the margin and with people who live close to the margin. They are interested in working with students who are a very good match for us and passionate about and comfortable with mental health issues, children with serious emotional disturbances, and interacting with marginalized populations.

To apply: Application process is being reviewed, but Lori Beyer is in charge of the internship programs. Community Connections is interested in working with carefully selected students. Only serious applicants should apply.

• Main office contact number: 202-546-1512

Location: 801 Pennsylvania Avenue, S.E., Suite 201 Washington DC 20003-2152 (right next to the Eastern Market Metro stop)

Public Defender Service - Mental Health Division

The Mental Health Division of the Public Defender Service for D.C. offers an investigative and social work internship to undergraduate psychology student. The building is accessible by the metro and they are routinely looking for undergraduate interns.

A social work intern is needed to assist the social workers, who represents persons undergoing involuntary civil and criminal commitment, primarily to Saint Elizabeth's Hospital. The duties for the social work internship include:

• Case management 
• Researching and evaluating community resources for client with special needs
• Locating alternative placement for clients
• Conducing on-site evaluations of court-ordered nursing home clients
• Assessing appropriateness of treatment programs
• Serving as an advocate to ensure clients' rights are protected
• Negotiating with hospital staff and community service providers to secure and improve quality of clients' care
• Investigating social issues affecting clients that arise from individual cases

Minimum 3 day a week requirement. Summer internships are full time. 

To apply, send a cover letter, resume, writing sample and two references by email to mhdinternclerk@pdsdc.org   For more information please feel free to visit our website at www.pdsdc.org or call Carolyn Slenska (202) 824-2860.



An investigator intern assist attorneys in preparing cases for court and administrative hearings. Once assigned a client, the intern and attorney will the fist contact with the client, and the intern will conduct follow up visits independently. Other duties include:

• Background interview with client which take place on the locked wards of the institution. 
• Interviewing process can be difficult as clients are highly suspicious and some may be actively hallucinating and delusional as well as heavily medicated. 
• Interviews treating psychiatrists of the client and hospital staff
• Submit all information obtained in interviews to the attorneys in written reports
• Responsible for obtaining medical and legal documental and abstracting pertinent information
• Meet with attorneys on a daily basis to discuss legal theories, possible testimonies from witnesses and other legal questions.
• May occasionally serve court subpoenas
• Observe and assist attorneys at numerous court and administrative hearings
• Occasionally, interns may testify at these hearings

Minimum 4 day a week requirement. Does take summer internships as well

All interested applicants must submit a resume, cover letter and letters from or other names and phone numbers of at least 2 references: one from a recent employer and one from a professor at the student's present academic institution. Please sent applications as  mhdinternclerk@pdsdc.org   For more information please call Carolyn Slenska (202) 824-2860

Gender and Sexuality Development Program - National Medical Center

The Gender and Sexual Development Program (GSDP) provides outpatient psychosocial consultations and group therapy for adolescents and their families, and a support group for families in the Washington, DC area. The program counsels children and families on these issues:

• behaviors considered at variance with generally-accepted gender roles
• sexual identity issues
• gender identity issues
• psychosocial aspects of Disorders of Sex Development (DSD), also known as intersex conditions (congenital genital variations)

The GSDP takes exceptional undergraduate interns who wish to make a one year commitment. It takes a lot to train an intern, so longer internships are preferred. Only one intern is taken per year. Interns will be working with gender variant/transgender kids. Intern responsibilities vary depending on the students skills. Roles could include working with research families, coordinating aspects of the research team, or participating on publications.

To apply: Contact Dr. John Strang at jstrang@cnmc.org

Location: 15245 Shady Grove Road Rockville, MD. The metro is about 2 miles away, so it is not really within walking distance. 

The DC Rape Crisis Center is dedicated to creating a world free of sexual violence. The Center works for social change through community outreach, education, and legal and public policy initiatives. It helps survivors and their families heal from the aftermath of sexual violence through crisis intervention, counseling and advocacy.

The DC Rape Crisis Center accepts applicants on a rolling basis, but typically have interns coming in starting in January, May, and September. The number of undergraduate student interns they seek varies based on time of year and needs of the organization.

Many interns work within their offices supporting the development, training and technical assistance, advocacy and civic engagement departments. All interns have the opportunity to also serve on our 24-hour crisis support hotline for survivors. The populations vary greatly, and depending on the role they may be going out to a variety of elementary, middle, and high schools in the District, working with volunteers of varying ages and demographics, and connecting with politicians and council members or strategic partners in sponsorship and financial support. 

Interns take on a variety of responsibilities depending on their role. There is a lot of room for administration and research, but the experience is not solely limited to these roles. They may be facilitating trainings in the community or for the greater volunteer corps, building relationships with their strategic partners, posting on social media and discussing communications strategies, and assisting in reviewing legislation. The options depend on the needs of the organization and the desires of the interns. The crisis center works with the interns to create a personalized work plan to both support the agency but also to grow and have access to the experiences they are looking for.

The internship placement can be relatively competitive, but once on board, the DC Rape Crisis Center provides personalized supports as well as community building and engagement, and supplemental learning opportunities related to their issue area of sexual violence and anti-oppression.

To Apply: Complete the application on the website and submit it to getinvolved@dcrcc.org. After the application is received, Cristina Urena will contact the applicant and determine which opportunity would be the best fit. The supervisor of that position will interview them and decide whether or not to offer the position. If you have any questions, you can email Cristina at curena@dcrcc.org.

Location: The offices are located at 5321 First Place, NE Washington DC 20011. It is a one to two minute walk from the Fort Totten Metro stop with access to the yellow, green, and red lines.

The Family Place

The Family Place is a non-profit organization that focuses on Family Literacy for the low-income community in the Columbia Heights area. They offer ESL classes, Spanish proficiency classes, and early childhood education to children ranging from two-months old to three years of age. The three most integral internships offered are:

·      ESL classroom intern

·      Early childhood development classroom intern

·      Case Management/Parent Support intern

The Family Place is routinely looking for undergraduate interns, and they have a fall, spring, and summer semester of their family literacy program. Throughout each semester, depending on time commitment of the interns, they take about 12-15 volunteers a semester. Depending on whether the student wants an internship or volunteer opportunity, the Family Place will discuss availability with them directly.

Students would be working with the low-income community in the Columbia Heights area. They serve a majority of Spanish native speakers, but they are not strictly Latino based. The Family Place started in the 80’s when community members were realizing the needs of the recent immigrants from Central America, and therefore provide ESL and Spanish proficiency classes. They admit anyone who is a DC resident, and require a pre-test to decide what level of English they are currently at.

Depending on the volunteer/intern placement, responsibilities can vary. If a student was working in the ESL/Spanish proficiency classrooms, they would be working with students directly forming lesson plans or one-on-one tutoring. They also have early childhood education classrooms, where volunteers would help with development activities and implementing interacting learning activities with parents and children. Over the summer, there are opportunities for case management and parental support, with a more social work focus. Lastly, they offer a Communications and Development Internship, allowing the student to work with their executive assistant with social media and other duties.

Because the participants are majority Latino, speaking Spanish is a valued skill in this internship. However, students who do not speak Spanish are also welcome, particularly in the ESL classroom intern position. If a volunteer does speak Spanish, they may be asked to do additional hours for the front desk area, which serves the reception area throughout the day for participants and walk-in community members with direct services such as diapers, food, or other emergency services.

To Apply: Email Kiersten Rossetto, Volunteer Coordinator, at krossetto@thefamilyplacedc.org or call her at 202-265-0149.

Location: 26^th Street in Columbia Heights (two blocks away from the Columbia Heights Metro station)

The Family Place is also accessible to many bus systems, such as the S2, S4, and S9 buses along 16^th street, the 42 bus, and the circulator that drops off at the Columbia Heights Metro Station.

Human Rights Campaign

The Human Rights Campaign is an organization devoted to the social welfare of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans. The core of their mission is to achieve equality for these individuals in all facets of life. HRC typically takes between 25-33 interns each term (fall, summer, or spring). Each intern has a supervisor specific to the program in which they are working. There are 25 different program areas ranging from development/fundraising, policy/grassroots, finance, social media, or educational programs. 

In every program, each intern experiences a mix of duties that includes a healthy balance between administrative/professional (e.g., data entry, power point creation, thank you letters, mailing resources) and educational tasks related to each program. Development interns gain an understanding of non-profit management, fundraising, donor relations and research while government affairs and field interns learn how to create an effective campaign, lobby elected officials, “get out the vote”, and solicit grass roots support for HRC goals. Interns among the various foundation programs gain experience working with faith institutions, corporate America, global entities, adoption agencies, college campuses, grade schools, and other professional organizations. Many interns have the opportunity to write blog posts or programmatic newsletters. 

Intern positions are unpaid but scholarship funds may be available based on financial need and a commitment to diversity. An HRC internship can often be a stepping-stone to employment at HRC - there are currently 28 former HRC interns on staff. 

To Apply: Visit www.hrc.org/intern. The application goes live at these general times: June (for fall term), October (for spring term), February (for summer term)

Location: 1640 Rhode Island Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20036 

The office is easily accessible by Metro via the Red line (Farragut North or Dupont Circle) or the Orange/Blue/Silver lines (Farragut West). 

FAIR Girls

Are you passionate about empowering women and girls survivors of violence? Are you interested in helping prevent and end human trafficking? If so, you would love to work at 1 of the 4 volunteer fellowships. FAIR Girls operates the only safe housing overnight emergency apartment for young women survivors of trafficking (ages 18-24) in D.C. This is a safe housing facility for survivors that are also homeless and exiting situations of trafficking. FAIR Girls is located in the Dupont Circle area and is metro accessible. 

1) Crisis Response Case Management Fellow

Under the supervision of the FAIR Girls' Director of Programs and case manager, the crisis response fellow will assist with day-to-day case management for youth survivors of human trafficking. 

Required Hours and Length of Commitment: Minimum 4 to 6 month commitment. 24 hours a week (preferred 32-40 hours a week). Fellow will also be required to be on call for crisis response in the field two weekends a month. Accept 4 to 8 interns per year. 

Roles & Responsibilities:

• Provide case management to youth survivors of human trafficking referred by law enforcement, social workers, probation officers and court officials in Maryland, DC and Virginia. Case management may involve liaising with judges, prosecutors, probation officers, social workers, other service providers and family members involved in the youth’s case.  It may also involve ensuring the youth obtains proper identification, safe housing, medical care, mental health care, legal representation, and public benefits. 
• Provide supportive counseling and mentorship to each individual youth in order to assist them in accomplishing personal, educational and career goals. 
• Provide emergency response services to survivors of trafficking when needed. This will include being on call to respond to crises in the field two weekends of the month. 
• Maintain accurate and updated case notes and other related documentation as required by FAIR Girls.   

Preferred Qualifications: Bachelors or Masters degree in social work/public health or other related field , but WILL TAKE SENIOR LEVEL UNDERGRADUATES. Fluent in Spanish. Experience in and passion for case management and counseling youth survivors of trauma, especially gender-based violence including but not limited to: sexual abuse, assault and sex trafficking. Experience in crisis response, sexual assault advocacy etc. Experience working with LGBTQ youth. Strong verbal communication, and flexibility. Please note FAIR Girls appreciates diversity and encourages all those interested in this position to apply.

To Apply: Please email detailed resume and cover letter to the FAIR Girls Director of Programs Teresa Tomassoni at Ttomassoni@fairgirls.org and Sarah Wampol-Hutchison, Director of Operations at wampol@fairgirls.org

2) Emergency Housing Fellow
Under the supervision of the FAIR Girls’ Director of Programs, the Emergency Housing fellow will assist with day-to-day operations at our overnight emergency housing safe apartment.

Required Hours and Length of Commitment:  Minimum 4 to 6 month commitment. This position requires fellow to commit to working 3 overnights a week (shifts are from 8:00 pm-8am the next morning) at our emergency housing safe apartment. Accept 4 to 8 interns per year. * No sleeping allowed

Roles & Responsibilities:

• Provide overnight supervision to up to 4 adult female survivors of trafficking at the FAIR Girls emergency housing safe apartment. 
• Facilitate cooking and other evening activities with residents. 
• Budget for groceries and other necessary household supplies with residents and go on shopping outings to purchase these items with them. 
• Provide supportive counseling and mentorship to each individual youth in order to assist them in accomplishing personal, educational and career goals. 
• Solicit donations for crisis apartment including furniture, clothes, food, toiletries, gift cards etc. 
• Keep apartment clean and organized. 
• Maintain accurate and updated case notes and other related documentation as required by FAIR Girls.

Preferred Qualifications: Bachelors or Masters degree in social work/public health/youth development or other related field, but WILL TAKE SENIOR LEVEL UNDERGRADUATES. Fluent in Spanish.  Experience in and passion for case management and counseling youth survivors of trauma, especially gender-based violence including but not limited to: sexual abuse, assault and sex trafficking. Experience working with LGBTQ youth. Experience working overnight shifts at domestic violence or homeless youth shelters. Experience facilitating engaging groups and workshops for youth. Strong work ethic, positive energy and attitude, empathetic outlook, excellent written and verbal communication, and flexibility. Please note FAIR Girls appreciates diversity and encourages all those interested in this position to apply.

To apply: Please email detailed resume and cover letter to the FAIR Girls Director of Programs, Teresa Tomassoni at Ttomassoni@fairgirls.org and Director of Operations, Sarah Wampol-Hutchison at wampol@fairgirls.org

3) Drop-in Center Fellow

Under the supervision of the FAIR Girls’ Director of Programs, the drop-in center fellow will assist with day-to-day operations in our drop-in center for youth survivors of human trafficking. 

Required Hours and Length of Commitment:  Minimum 4 to 6 month commitment. Minimum 20 hours a week (Preferred 32-40 hours a week) Fellow will also be required to sign up to staff our emergency housing safe apartment for survivors of trafficking a minimum of 3 nights a month. 

Roles & Responsibilities:

• Provide case management inside our drop-in center to youth survivors of human trafficking referred by law enforcement, social workers, probation officers and court officials in Maryland, DC and Virginia. Case management may involve liaising with judges, prosecutors, probation officers, social workers, other service providers and family members involved in the youth’s case.  It may also involve ensuring the youth obtains proper identification, safe housing, medical care, mental health care, legal representation, and public benefits. 
• Provide supportive counseling and mentorship to each individual youth in order to assist them in accomplishing personal, educational and career goals. 
• Coordinate and facilitate multiple daily recreational and educational workshops for youth including health education groups, jewelry making groups, dance groups, art groups, resume building workshops, etc. 
• Provide emergency response services to survivors of trafficking when needed at the drop in center. This will include crisis counseling, conflict mediation, and staffing our overnight crisis apartment at least 3 nights a month. 
• Solicit donations for drop in center including furniture, clothes, food, toiletries, gift cards etc. 
• Keep drop-in center clean and organized. 
• Maintain accurate and updated case notes and other related documentation as required by FAIR Girls.

Preferred Qualifications: Bachelors or Masters degree in social work/public health/youth development or other related field, but WILL TAKE SENIOR LEVEL UNDERGRADUATES. Fluent in Spanish.  Experience in and passion for case management and counseling youth survivors of trauma, especially gender-based violence including but not limited to: sexual abuse, assault and sex trafficking. Experience working with LGBTQ youth. Experience developing and managing youth leadership programs and community service projects. Experience facilitating engaging groups and workshops for youth. Strong work ethic, positive energy and attitude, empathetic outlook, excellent written and verbal communication, and flexibility. Please note FAIR Girls appreciates diversity and encourages all those interested in this position to apply.

To Apply: Please email detailed resume and cover letter to the FAIR Girls Director of Programs, Teresa Tomassoni at Ttomassoni@fairgirls.org and Sarah Wampol-Hutchison, Director of Operations, at wampol@fairgirls.org

4) Data Tracking and Technical Assistance Fellow

Under the supervision of the FAIR Girls’ Director of Operations, the Data Tracking and Technical Assistance Fellow will assist with data tracking and monitoring and evaluation activities related FAIR Girls day-to-day operations. 

Required Hours and Length of Commitment:  Minimum 4 to 6 month commitment. Minimum 20 hours a week. 

Roles & Responsibilities:

• Assist with drafting monitoring and evaluation policies and procedures. 
• Analyze data trends on youth survivors of human trafficking and contribute reports on survivor demographic and outcome trends involved in FAIR Girls programs
• Work collaboratively with Director of Operations to further refine features of FAIR Girls database tracking system
• Participate in meetings with community partners to streamline process of organizing agency data

Preferred Qualifications: Master’s degree in social work, sociology, or other human services related field. Bachelor’s degree in computer science or work experience in bioinformatics, research, or technology strongly recommended. Experience in non-profit program evaluation and operations for non-profits. Passionate about research and the use of technology in creating evidence based-practices. High level of comfort with navigating technology and background in understanding software development. Experience using Salesforce CRM software highly valued. 

To Apply: Please email detailed resume and cover letter to the FAIR Girls Director of Operations, Sarah Wampol-Hutchison, at wampol@fairgirls.org. 

Prevention Education (Tell Your Friends)

FAIR Girls currently has a partnership with D.C. Public Schools as well as Baltimore and some areas in Prince George county to teach a trafficking prevention curriculum. Again, would accept 4 to 8 interns per year.

For more information & to apply please contact Sarah Wampol-Hutchison at wimple@fairgirls.org

The Alexandria Domestic Violence Response Awareness Program

The Alexandria Domestic Violence Response Awareness Program is dedicated to helping victims of intimate partner violence. This shelter typically takes 4 interns per year, but may take more depending on the number of clients residing within the center. Undergraduate interns will be working with victims of intimate partner violence and will be responsible for answering the hotline, supporting the shelter as well as attending to client needs within a milieu setting. This shelter can be accessed from the metro, however, it is located at a slight distance from the nearest metro exit. 

To Apply: Interested students should send a resume to Jennifer Enslen at jennifer.enslen@alexandria.gov 

A Wider Circle is an organization whose mission is to end poverty for individual or family at a time. They typically take 15 students for fall, spring, and summer semesters, and they are also willing to interview candidates in the middle of a semester. All of A Wider Circle’s clients are living in poverty. Beyond that common denominator, there are single moms and dads, veterans, senior citizens, and disabled people. Internship opportunities are available in a number of different areas: Neighbor-to-Neighbor, Client Relations, Education, Management and Strategic Planning, Research and Writing. For more information about each of these opportunities, you can go to www.awidercircle.org. A Wider Circle looks for students who are energetic and passionate about ending poverty!

To Apply: Send a resume and cover letter to Anne Thompson, Ph.D. at intern@awidercircle.org

Location:

9159 Brookville Road, Silver Spring, MD 20910

The office is within walking distance from Forest Glen Metro (15 minutes) or bus accessible from the Silver Spring Metro.