History, Mission and Vision

History
In 2000, a group of residents from the Dorchester neighborhood in Boston, MA came together to address the complex issue of domestic violence where it happens—in our neighborhoods. These residents reached out to the community by knocking on doors and speaking at civic meetings across Dorchester. The message was simple, but the request challenging: work with us to prevent domestic violence. Together we can develop a community driven response and change the norms in our community that allow domestic violence to continue. Reach out to your family, friends and neighbors about domestic violence.

Feedback to our request was clear: addressing domestic violence is a critical issue in our community, and in all communities. Forty percent of community members surveyed by Close to Home knew someone affected by domestic violence.  Over the next two years, volunteers responded by leading presentations at civic meetings, reaching several thousand residents at community meetings and events, and hosting neighborhood “kitchen-table” discussion groups.  In response, Close to Home incorporated as a non-profit organization in 2002. Close to Home’s name comes from our belief that it is the local community that can best provide support and create lasting change on this issue, because it is community members who are experts on what is going on in their communities, and on what kinds of initiatives will be most effective.

Mission
Close to Home’s mission is to foster community-wide responsibility to prevent and reduce the impact of domestic violence.  We are building and supporting networks of community residents and organizations in local neighborhoods that want to take action and address the problem of domestic violence together.  Close to Home believes that domestic violence is a critical community issue and that all community members—youth, residents, families, friends, neighbors, civic leaders, and organizational partners—are essential to designing and implementing the solutions to the problem.

Close to Home seeks to create opportunities for people and organizations to:

• Learn about domestic violence in their community,

• Discuss and reflect on domestic violence in their lives and communities,

• Develop skills to respond to and prevent domestic violence,

• Develop and implement solutions to domestic violence, and

• Build strong meaningful connections with each other.

Close to Home is leveraging the success of our local community engagement work to influence domestic violence prevention practice and policy locally and nationally.

Vision
Close to Home envisions a future where all people and organizations play an active role in responding to and preventing domestic violence, so the despair, silence and isolation shrouding the issue today is replaced with hope, connection, understanding, and action.

Work with us!

Full Time Community Organizer/Vietnamese Community Liaison Position

Close to Home is a new and innovative approach to domestic violence prevention that seeks to make it a public civic issue rather than a hidden secret—our mission is to create a broad-based civic response to prevent domestic violence. Through community organizing, coalition building and creating civic discourse, we are mobilizing, educating and developing the leadership of community residents and other community assets to take action to prevent domestic violence in Dorchester’s Fields Corner neighborhood.

Close to Home is seeking an individual for the position of Community Organizer/Vietnamese Community Liaison. The Community Organizer/Vietnamese Community Liaison will be responsible for developing and implementing a plan to engage community members, including adults and youth, to respond to and prevent domestic violence in their neighborhood. The Community Organizer/Vietnamese Community Liaison will build relationships with individuals and organizations, provide workshops, maintain a public awareness campaign, maintain relationships with local organizations, and assist with general office activities.

The Community Organizer’s responsibilities will include but not be limited to:
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Conducting base-building activities with Field’s Corner residents, organizations and businesses including: organizing and conducting kitchen table conversations, developing and maintaining relationships with community members, recruiting community members into activities, supporting adult and youth residents in project/ campaign execution, and implementing ongoing evaluation and assessment activities (such as surveys and community mapping)
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Developing and maintaining collaborations with local organizations
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Conducting trainings for community residents and local organizations
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Planning and implementing community events
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Assisting in the creation of educational materials
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General office maintenance and administrative staff support

Qualifications:
The ideal candidates will possess the following experience:
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At least 1-2 years experience in community organizing and/or 1-2 years of experience working in the field of domestic violence intervention/prevention
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Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent
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Experience working with people of all ages
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Knowledge of Dorchester as well as community organizations in Greater Boston
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Knowledge of the diverse cultures in Dorchester and ability to interact well with people from a variety of backgrounds
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Knowledge of and ability to network with community resources and to build community relationships
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Bi-lingual in Vietnamese and English strongly preferred
Excellent written and verbal skills, including large group presentations
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Experience with using common office computer programs and databases
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Able to work independently and to work as part of a team
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Able to manage priorities

Candidates must have the flexibility and willingness to work long hours and on some weekends, and be able to travel throughout Dorchester and Boston while implementing responsibilities listed above. The salary range for this position is competitive and depends on experience.

Please send resume and cover letter to Elizabeth Reardon, Close to Home, 42 Charles Street, Suite E, Dorchester, MA 02122, or email elizabeth@c2home.org. Resumes and cover letters will be reviewed as received until April 30, 2007.

Cover letter should address the following questions: How does your prior experience relate to the Community Organizer position responsibilities and qualifications? Why does Close to Home’s mission of involving community members in domestic violence prevention appeal to you? Why do you believe community organizing is an effective and important strategy to create social change? Please send hard copies by mail only.

Close to Home is an equal opportunity employer. For more information about Close to Home please see our website at: www.c2home.org