Youth and Family Advocate – Young Families

Our Mission
The Bridge for Youth (BFY) centers youth voice, justice, and equity in all we do, and empowers youth experiencing homelessness through safe shelter, basic needs, and healthy relationships.

Our Values

Patience – We give space for youth to make decisions on their own timeline in their own way.

Love and Caring – We believe in acceptance, empathy, and non-judgement.

Communication – We engage in intentional dialogue to understand each other’s truths.

Integrity – We actively learn, grow, and change to align our actions in equity and justice.

Co-Creation – We seek connection to amplify the voice of youth and each other.

Community – We stand together for youth and for each other.

Position Information

Position: Youth and Family Advocate – Young Families

Job Type: Full-Time, Non-Exempt 1.0 FTE

Classification: Non-Exempt

Reports to: Young Families Case Manager Supervisor

Posting Date: 10/27/26

Closing Date: Open Until Closed

Compensation: $20 - $23/hr

The Bridge for Youth utilizes an equitable & competitive compensation program and salary structure that includes regular Cost of Living Adjustments and raises. For this position, the salary range is $20 - $23/hr, depending on experience. This salary is non-negotiable beyond this range to counter pay inequality and uphold internal parity for salaries.

Position Hours: Sun/Mon: 2:30 PM – 11:00 PM, Tue/Wed: OFF, Thu: 7:30 AM – 4:00 PM , Fri/Sat:2:30 PM – 11:00 PM. Some holidays included. Position participates in on-call back-up rotation, as necessary and assigned. Rotation of on-call duties is 24-hours a day for seven days.

Position Overview

The Bridge for Youth (BFY) centers youth voice, justice, and equity in all we do, and empowers youth Bridge has been at the forefront of addressing youth homelessness in Minnesota, positively impacting the lives of the most vulnerable youth in our community, through youth-centered programs that offer a pathway out of poverty and chronic homelessness.

The Young Families Youth & Family Advocate (YFA) is responsible for providing direct services and support to youth in Gloria’s Place (an emergency shelter setting for youth ages 15-17 who are pregnant and/or parenting) and Marlene’s Place (a Transitional Living Program for youth ages 16-20 who are pregnant/or parenting). This position supports young parents and their children (ages 0-3) who are experiencing homelessnessastheywork towardsreunificationwithfamilyorstablehousing. This position operateswithinaframework of agency philosophy and goals, including teamcommitment and cooperation among services and programs.

Benefits

• Competitive health, dental, vision and ancillarybenefits
• Company paid life insurance and long-term disability
• 403b (immediate vesting) with up to 4% match after one year of employment
• Up to 20 days of PTO first year of employment, in addition to 15 paid holidays
• Pet friendly

We ask all staff to:

• Lead within a framework of agency values, philosophies, and goals, including team commitment and cooperation across BFY services andprograms.
• Emulate and enthusiastically promote the organizational culture as defined by the identified values statements and racial justice and equity opportunities of BFY.
• Leads in building upon and strengthening a culture of establishing and nurturing relationships.
• BFY believes in team, collaboration, and constantly developing a supportive and caring environment for each other. Sometimes we are asked to lean in above and beyond our position description and we enthusiastically do so.

Key Responsibilities

Programmatic

• Initiate,developandmaintainpositivedirectrelationshipswithallyouth ages15-20and their children (ages 0-3) from initial contact through their entire stay and including on-going or follow up contact
• Help support home-like environment through shopping, cooking and providing activities for youth to engage with staff and one another through relationship building
• Develop self-harm contract with youth as needed
• Ensure health assessments are scheduled and completed
• Assist youth in developing strength-based goals
• Provide therapeutic support and coaching to the youth as they parent
• Provide direct milieu therapeutic strategies and techniques with the youth & their children in group and individual settings
• Professionally interact and collaborate with outside agencies and service providers to ensure that a continuum of care for the youth and their families is provided
• Provide direct care, support, guidance, role modeling, and coaching to the youth while working on the program floor
• Provide consistent supervision and support to youth by actively engaging on the floor and rotating between programs. When off the floor, remain available in designated areas with open-door access to ensure 24/7 staff support
• Provide screenings for services, administer assessments and intake services, document and report abuse (when necessary)
• Assist in providing Gloria’s Place youth with their medications and recording all medications taken as directed by pharmacist/medical provider
• Assist in preparing and coordination of meals in Gloria’s Place, and working alongside youth in Marlene’s Place to help learn independent living skills
• Adhere to all BFY policies, practices and procedures
• Respect youth confidentiality and demonstrate appropriate boundaries with youth and families at all times
• Supervise chores on the floor and assist in completing them as necessary
• Additional duties as assigned

Administrative Duties

• Participateincasemanagementbackup,asnecessaryand assigned
• Administer screenings, intakes and assessments
• Ensure information is accurately charted in each case file, case management plan is being followed and critical information is passed on to coworkers including entering information in the Client Records Management (CRM) system
• Assist in developing independent living skills and parenting curriculum
• Mentor and provide training to volunteers and interns when assigned
• Adhere to agency standards and procedures for scheduling, file work, and record-keeping
• Check BFY email on a daily basis
• Additional duties as assigned

Qualifications

Required

• Must have at least one of the following: Experience working with youth in a similar setting or Bachelor’s or associate’s degree in human services related field
• Demonstrated ability for commitment to diversity
• Demonstrated ability to work individually and with a team
• Demonstrates good communication skills orally and in writing
• Experience and ability to work with Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint & Outlook) as well as Client Record Management (CRM)
• Hands-on knowledge of record keeping in a digitized environment, expertise in text messaging and other digital communication methods
• Must be 21 years of age or older
• Must not have been a resident of any BFY program within the last three years
• Must clear a background check
• Valid driver’s license, satisfactory driving record and insurance limits of $100,000 per person/$300,000 per accident

Preferred

• Lived experience similar to the youth served by BFY
• Bi-lingual (English-Spanish) with high proficiency of verbal and written skills
• Bachelor’s or associate’s degree in youth development, nonprofit leadership, psychology, social work, or related human services field

To Apply

Submit cover letter and resume to resume@bridgeforyouth.org

The Bridge for Youth is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to embracing diversity and individuality and opposed to practices which discriminate on basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, handicap, disability, age, or nationality. We apply this policy of unbiased consideration not only to our employment practices, but also to any contractual opportunities. We are further committed to taking affirmative action to ensure these opportunities are accessible to individuals who meet the qualifications, and we encourage all interested parties to apply. EEO/AA.