Paid 2020 Summer Internship at Pisgah Legal Services
College Students Apply by Feb 10th
Pisgah Legal Services is grateful to be a partner in the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation’s Nonprofit Partnership Internship Program in Summer 2020. Pisgah Legal will host a paid internship for a college student in Asheville from late May 2020 –late July 2020.
The Community Engagement and Intake Intern will work to assess barriers to our programs for people of color and other groups interacting with the civil justice system and help identify strategies to remove those barriers.
Internship Tasks
Pisgah Legal Services seeks an intern to help increase access to our services, particularly in communities of color. The intern will:
- Analyze intake and case data to assess who applies for our services and who receives services (race, age, primary language spoken, geographic location, etc).
- Conduct intake interviews for potential Pisgah Legal clients to get information about their legal needs and their eligibility for our services based on income.
- Conduct community engagement and education with the goals of gathering feedback about community needs and access to Pisgah Legal Services and to inform more people about the legal matters that we can assist with.
- Work with supervisor and Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Committee to propose improvements to our community engagement efforts and client intake process.
The position would be for 37.5 hours per week. Hours would be 8:30 – 5:00 three days a week and 10:30 – 7:00 two days a week, with a one-hour lunch break. The intern will be asked to participate in some community engagement and education activities on weekends. Any hours worked on the weekend can be flexed during that same workweek. The dates of this internship may be flexible, depending on the intern’s summer schedule.
Educational Opportunities
There are many opportunities for growth and learning at Pisgah Legal Services including:
- Attending educational events that PLS hosts for law school interns, which include lunch and learn sessions with district and federal court judges and tours of county, federal and tribal courthouses;
- Participating in cross-training sessions provided by Pisgah Legal attorneys and staff about various areas of law;
- Interviewing staff about their work and their own professional path;
- Observing staff in different programs and participating in client interviews, court hearings, community outreach, coalition meetings and other events with staff to learn about their specialty areas, which include a wide array of civil law practice areas (immigration, housing, domestic violence, elder law, consumer protection and more), community economic development, policy advocacy, equity, diversity & inclusion initiatives;
- Interviewing volunteer attorneys and community partners (can include judges, district attorneys, elected leaders, health care providers, etc.) to learn about additional areas of work outside of PLS programs.
- Recommended reading and/or video resources for learning about issues of poverty and justice, if desired.
- Opportunity to learn or practice a variety of skills, including data analysis, client interviewing, community education, public speaking (if desired, not required), running meetings, and others.
Application Process
Applications should be submitted to Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation here application. (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScWM63hsTmTPWddp1FV46OIB3xELplVfe4w2nH60Tdv46Da4w/viewform) by Monday, February 10, 2020, at 12pm (noon).
Eligible students must be:
- A rising sophomore, junior, or senior enrolled full-time in a four-year North Carolina college or university; OR
- A rising sophomore, junior or senior North Carolina resident enrolled full-time in a four-year accredited college outside the state; AND
- Pell grant-eligible in the academic year in which they apply for NPIP. As a part of the application process, students will be asked to upload their Student Aid Reportverifying their Pell grant eligibility. Students can access this document through their FAFSA login. Click here for further directions. Students ineligible for a Pell grant due to documentation issues or criminal conviction may be eligible and should contact myself at [email protected].
*** Students of color are encouraged to apply.
Compensation:
- Intern will receive $3,200 stipend for the internship period.
- Pisgah Legal Services will pay mileage for any work-related travel.
- Pisgah Legal may be able to find free summer housing for a student that is not local, but interested in this internship.
Questions? Contact Katie Russell Miller at [email protected].