Housing Not Handcuffs New York (HNH NY) Communications Associate

The National Homelessness Law Center (Law Center) seeks a strategic, collaborative, mission-driven thought partner to serve as our Housing Not Handcuffs NY (HNH NY) Communications Associate. The Law Center is the legal arm of the national movement to end homelessness and is looking for an Associate compelled by the national housing crisis and energized by our vision of housing as a human right and dismantling structural racism.

ABOUT THE POSITION:
The HNH NY Communications Associate will be part of a new team at the Law Center focused on ending the criminalization of homelessness and advancing the human right to housing in New York City. The HNH NY team builds on the Law Center’s national campaign – Housing Not Handcuffs (HNH) – launched in 2015 to stop the criminalization of homelessness and urge communities to provide housing solutions to homelessness. The national HNH Campaign has supported litigation and policy advocacy nationwide to challenge and repeal laws criminalizing homelessness, while advancing housing solutions to homelessness. The HNH NY team is a deliberate expansion of this campaign focusing on the rising homelessness and the oppression of unhoused people in New York City.

The Communications Associate will work together with an HNH NY Senior Attorney to advance the goals of decriminalization and a human right to housing, while having the opportunity to collaborate with other legal staff, including the Legal Director and Pro Bono Director. The HNH NY team will be focused on litigation, policy advocacy, education and outreach to defend against recent actions to criminalize and otherwise marginalize unhoused persons in New York City and provide social and traditional media support to advancing legislation toward a human right to housing in the City. Specifically, the HNH NY Communications Associate will be part of the new team’s Campaign to challenge untrue narratives about unhoused persons fueling harmful New York City policies & instead advance policies consistent with the human right to housing.

ABOUT THE LAW CENTER:
Founded in 1989 by the principal architect of the 1987 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, the first major federal legislation to address homelessness, the Law Center is the leading national organization using the power of the law to advocate for millions of people experiencing homelessness and housing instability. The Law Center’s work has put unhoused children back in school, won new resources for affordable housing, prevented homelessness for renters, overturned laws that criminalize homelessness, and built support for the human right to housing, now a major component of federal domestic policy.

Our core conviction in carrying out this critically important work is that no one should have to go without safe, affordable housing in a country as wealthy as ours. The Law Center’s work, in partnership with national, state and local partners, is critical now more than ever as the eviction and affordable housing crises push record numbers of persons into homelessness. People of color, women and members of the LGBTQ+ community are disproportionately and uniquely affected by homelessness, and our work consciously and affirmatively seeks to address these interrelated inequities. The Law Center elevates the power and voices of persons with lived expertise in working toward systems change.

We are proud of our high quality and committed team of 11 staff persons and 3 VISTAs, as well as our large corps of volunteer attorneys. Although headquartered in Washington, DC, staff live and work across the country. In April 2021, the Law Center welcomed its second Executive Director, Antonia Fasanelli, a national leader recognized for her expertise in housing and homelessness law and policy.

For more information, read our Annual Reports (https://homelesslaw.org/resources/annual-report/) and explore our website at www.homelesslaw.org.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Collaborate with HNH NY Senior Attorney, as well as partner organizations, to design social media campaigns promoting the human right to housing and against criminalization in New York City and across the country;
• Assist in designing issue fact sheets, infographics, memes, sample social media posts, and other supportive materials changing the narrative around unhoused persons;
• Coordinate the creation of a monthly Social Media content calendar—including conceptualizing ideas based on overarching strategy, executing content, scheduling and publishing written and video content on platforms;
• Serve as the community manager for social media, dedicating time each day to actively engage with users on our page & proactively engage with similar content;
• Gather social media data & insights for reporting to the HNH NY team or other internal teams on a weekly and monthly basis;
• Manage and write content for the website using WordPress;
• Draft and produce other communications materials or other outreach materials;
• Participate in drafting press releases, op-eds, and letters to the editor as needed; and
• Respond to media inquiries, maintain media list, and track media coverage.

SALARY, BENEFITS AND LOCATION:

Salary: $55,000.

Benefits: Health, Dental, Vision, Life, Short and Long-term Disability Insurance all fully employer paid and a 403(b) retirement plan with supplemental salary contribution. The Law Center provides a leave package of vacation (20 days per year), sick leave (10 days per year), personal leave (5 days per year), and all Federal holidays. In addition, the Law Center also closes two weeks per year. The Law Center has flexible work schedule options.

Location: The Law Center staff are primarily working remotely due to COVID-19. The Law Center’s headquarters is in Washington, DC, but has staff working in various States around the country. NYC residence or within an hour of commuting distance is necessary for this position; travel to DC may be required.