ARISE Application Support Volunteer

ARISE is a new guaranteed income pilot program that plans to give $500 a month to 170 City of Alexandria residents for two years. A research team will evaluate the ARISE program outcomes which will inform future efforts and policy decisions. 
Responsibilities: Application Support Volunteers provide technical and language support to applicants who may need help to successfully complete the online application. Application Support Volunteers will be physically present at the City’s application sites during the application period. Additionally, the City is exploring a system where interested applicants can call to schedule an application appointment and volunteers could be deployed to a public location to support a resident who has requested assistance. Use of the language line to communicate with speakers of other languages may be required. Training will be given. Responsibilities include:
- Providing excellent customer service, showing patience and respect to all applicant
- Must be physically present at application site to provide support to walk-ins
- The ability to answer questions about the application, general program design, and timeline
- Providing technological support to residents who may not be familiar with computers
- Reading questions to applicants who may not be language literate
Qualifications: Application Support Volunteers must enjoy providing supportive and patient service and interacting with people of diverse backgrounds and skillsets. Application Support Volunteers also need basic computer skills, including knowledge of software, applications, and devices. Ideally Application Site Volunteers should have a compassionate, supportive approach and experience working with individuals or families from diverse backgrounds. Many applicants are facing challenging economic circumstances. Bilingual skills in either Spanish, Amharic, Arabic or Farsi are a plus but not required.
Qualifications for Application Support Volunteers include:
- Basic computer skills; knowledge of software, applications, and devices
- A patient, compassionate, and positive approach to supporting diverse populations
- Comfort working with individuals and families from all backgrounds and skill levels facing challenging economic circumstances
The City of Alexandria is committed to ensuring a positive, supportive experience for applicants and volunteers and reserves the right to reassign volunteers who may not be well suited to customer service.
Training: The City of Alexandria is utilizing a Randomized Control Trial evaluation to understand how $500/mo contributes to financial security, mental and physical health, and labor market participation, among other things. As a result, the required training for anyone assisting with the application, which includes a baseline survey, includes:
- 1.5 hour survey administration training offered by Abt Associates, City of Alexandria’s research and evaluation partner. If volunteers are not available when this training is offered, they can watch the recording.
Requirements for volunteering: Volunteers are asked to commit to a minimum of a four-hour shift at one of the application support sites. However, we hope you will consider more!