Job Opportunity - Licensed Facilitator
Seeking
Licensed social worker, counselor, or parent educator to facilitate weekly peer-based support meetings serving grief and loss needs of mothers whose parental rights have been terminated.
About the opportunity
Bellis will contract a facilitator for up to 1-2 hours a week at $50/hour, with the opportunity to increase hours as the needed up to part-time status. Each meeting generally runs for 1 hour. Additional time allows for preparation and evaluation for each meeting.
Online via Zoom and on location at partnering organizations
Beginning January 2025
One facilitator manages one or more weekly meetings, with the ability to have substitutes as needed
This position reports directly to Kelly Tronstad, Executive Director of Bellis, and will have collaborative relationships with other involved professionals.
The ideal candidate will have
Facilitation experience with a population of individuals managing ambiguous grief/loss related to family complexities
Expert understanding of termination of parental rights, adoption, and foster care
Drive for orchestrating healing conversations in a peer-based and trauma-informed environment
Unbiased views related to people whose parental rights have been involuntarily terminated and general agreement with Bellis mission and guiding values
Professional expertise to deliver a first-of-its-kind endeavor in support of women
About the program
Bellis facilitates compassionate, peer-support groups for mothers and fathers whose children are parented by others, including those whose parental rights have been terminated. Bellis creates a network of support among participants so they can, together, address emotional isolation, shame and (often) uncertainty about the process they have endured.
About Bellis
Since 1983, Bellis has built innovative services and networks to support those whose lives have been impacted by adoption and foster care. We recognize adoption as a relational, not transactional, practice. It is unique in its mix of joy, emotional isolation, and ambiguous grief. Our approach offers emotional support to individuals, while advocating for a more compassionate understanding in broader society.
Expertise
Over the past seven years, Bellis has developed our Stronger Together Peer Support Model™. This peer-based approach has been highly beneficial for women who grieve that they were not able to parent their children. Bellis designed this model based on and enhanced by years of input by birth mothers. Our approach includes:
A focus on sharing stories in a safe and supportive setting that offers validation and acceptance.
A peer-based format facilitated by a licensed professional with extensive knowledge of trauma-informed and strengths-based care surrounding adoption and foster care.
A neutral setting (e.g., outside of a social service agency a mother may have used).
A commitment to referring women to trusted resources for other services (e.g., mental health, housing, etc.).
Please submit a resume and cover letter to Bellis Executive Director Kelly Tronstad at kellyt@mybellis.org.