Trauma Counselor
Job Title: Trauma Counselor
Pay: $25-$50 per hour (commensurate with experience)
FLSA Status: Part-time, no benefits offered (potential to be full-time with benefits)
Schedule: 15 to 24 hours per week (must be after school hours)
Travel: Some local travel required
Details: This position is slated to start May 1, 2023
Summary: Youth Empowerment for Advancement Hangout (YEAH) is a Black-led,
community-based non-profit supporting teens and young adults in West and Southwest
Philadelphia ages 15 to 24 who are impacted by violence. YEAH works to create safe and
authentic hangout spaces by providing culturally relevant engagement and implementing teen led
interventions to address the root causes of violence. Utilizing teen action through peer led
mediation and conflict resolution, community engagement, and economic opportunities, YEAH
interrupts the cycle of youth community violence. YEAH acknowledges teens and young adults
as the experts of their own lives and prioritizes pushing back against oppressive systems and
addressing structural barriers that often lead to violence.
The Youth Empowerment and Violent Crime Initiative (VCI) is a program component within
YEAH that focuses on providing holistic and culturally relevant community support and case
management services to teens and young adults within the juvenile legal system. The main goals
of this initiative include:
● Engaging and supporting teens and young adults both prior to release and when released
from the Juvenile Justice Services Center (JJSC).
● Providing intensive support services as pilot programming to teens and young adults
within the juvenile justice system to address victimization, gaps in services, violence
reduction, continuity of care, and the overall well-being of youth related to culturally
relevant behavioral health & restorative justice services.
● Providing monetary incentives in addition to training, community engagement, and
psychoeducational workshops that improve the quality of life of teens and young adults
in Philadelphia and build skills relevant to life and violence reduction.
● Connecting teens and young adults to sustainable services in and outside of YEAH,
beneficial to the individual based on their circumstance.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities: The trauma counselor will maintain a rotating caseload of
up to 15 teens and young adults (total) to provide in person trauma counseling mostly at YEAH
Philly offices. This position will also be responsible for conducting in-home counseling in some
instances, maintaining all documentation, and providing updates to YEAH staff related to
treatment planning and progress. Hours of the program are after school, and candidates should be
expected to work between hours of 3 pm and 8:30 pm unless it’s the weekend. Some teens or
young adults assigned to the trauma counselor may not be involved in the legal system but have
trauma histories and have not had access to quality or consistent counseling or mental health
treatment. While providing in-depth therapy may not be the norm, the expectation is to provide
at least basic trauma counseling to help young people manage emotions and begin to heal
through traumatic life experiences.
Job Requirements: Valid driver’s license and ability to drive personal and company cars
required. Philadelphia residency within 6 months is required. Must be a licensed professional
counselor, licensed social worker, or certified trauma counselor. Candidates must have a
demonstrated background and expertise of providing trauma counseling or therapy to Black
identifying teenagers and young adults; demonstrated track record of successfully building
healthy and trusting relationships with young people impacted by violence; candidates should be
detail oriented, have life and professional experience in social work, human services, counseling,
a strong interest in social justice and the ability to grasp concepts around violence, race, and
systems; excellent verbal and written communication skills, ability to submit well written notes
within a specified timeframe; and excellent time management and organizational skills. Schedule
varies based on caseload needs and candidates must be willing to work evenings. Those who
identify racially or ethnically as Black or Brown and have been personally impacted by the
criminal justice system or violence (directly or indirectly) are strongly encouraged to apply.
Primary Responsibilities:
● Develop and build healthy, trusting, therapeutic relationships with teens and young
adults.
● Provide individual counseling both in the office and in a few instances, a home setting.
● Provide weekly group therapy or peer support groups.
● Utilize different modalities to focus on managing trauma histories and mental health
symptoms such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, ADHD, anger etc.
● Maintain documentation and utilize a case management database to provide qualitative
updates on progress.
Additional Responsibilities:
● Collaborate with other staff to provide updates for treatment planning or court dates.
● All other duties assigned
To apply, please email resume/CV and cover letter to teens@yeahphilly.org and use
Trauma Counselor as the subject line. In your cover letter, please discuss your professional
experience working with and providing counseling to Black teens and young adults.
Qualified candidates will be contacted for an in-person interview. Based on organizational
capacity, unqualified applicants or those providing an incomplete application will not be
contacted.
Youth Empowerment for Advancement Hangout (YEAH) is an equal opportunity employer
committed to assembling a diverse, broadly trained staff. Women, minorities, people with lived
experience, disabilities and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply. In compliance with
applicable laws and in furtherance of its commitment to fostering an environment that welcomes
and embraces diversity, YEAH does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion,
national origin, sex (including pregnancy and parenting status), disability, age, veteran status,
sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status or genetic information in its
programs or activities, including employment, admissions, and educational programs.
The above job description is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and standards
of the position. Employees will follow any other instructions and perform any other related
duties as assigned by their supervisor.