Summer 2010 Undergraduate Internships
Community Development Project
The Community Development Project of the Urban Justice Center (CDP) seeks one full-time intern for the summer of 2010 to help us advocate for low-income communities of color and assist grassroots organizing groups in New York City.
Duties: The intern will provide clerical, administrative, and organizational support to our 20-person staff, focusing on issues such as housing and tenant organizing, workers’ rights, immigrants' rights, health access, foreclosure defense, and consumer rights. The intern will have the opportunity to attend client meetings, court proceedings, and press conferences, and assist with research. Interns are expected to work 35-40 hours per week and for at least 10 weeks. The position is unpaid.
Background: CDP provides legal, technical, and research and policy assistance to community groups engaged in a wide range of community development efforts in the areas of tenant, consumer, and workers’ rights; non-profit law; low-income housing development; access to healthcare; job creation; and economic and environmental justice. Applicants are encouraged to learn more about the CDP's work by looking at our website, www.urbanjustice.org/cdp.
Qualifications: Applicants should have strong organizational skills, writing, research, and interpersonal skills, relevant background and experience, and a demonstrated ability to work with diverse populations. A second language – especially Spanish, Chinese, or South Asian languages – is strongly preferred.
Application: To apply, please mail a resume, cover letter, and a writing sample (no more than 5 pages) to Amy Tai at atat@urbanjustice.org by April 15, 2010.
CDP is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer; applicants from diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.
Summer 2010 Undergraduate
Internships
Mental Health Project
The Mental Health Project of the Urban Justice Center ("MHP") seeks one full-time intern for the summer of 2010 to help us advocate for low-income and homeless people with severe mental illness in New York City. The interns will provide clerical, administrative, and organizational support to our small team of lawyers, social workers, and advocates, and in return will learn a great deal about launching careers in social justice.
Unlike many other organizations, MHP combines direct assistance to individuals with aggressive systemic advocacy. For hundreds of clients each year, we stop evictions, win Social Security, win public assistance benefits, and obtain medical insurance. Based on what we learn from our clients, we educate, organize, and litigate for systemic change. Our groundbreaking systemic work has been covered by the New York Times, El Diario, Telemundo, the Daily News, Newsday, Rolling Stone, New York 1, WNBC, WABC, WNYC, WBAI, Inside Edition, and the Boston Globe. For more information, visit the project home page at http://www.urbanjustice.org/ujc/projects/mental.html.
The Urban Justice Center is an equal opportunity employer. Mental health consumers, people with disabilities, people of color, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans-gendered people are encouraged to apply.
The full-time, summer internship will start the day after Memorial Day and continue for at least 10 consecutive weeks. To apply, please mail a resume, writing sample (must be under 5 pages), transcript, and 3 references to: Dara Wilensky (dwilensky@urbanjustice.org).
Summer 2010 Legal Internships
Mental Health Project
The Mental Health Project of the Urban Justice Center ("MHP") seeks law student interns for the summer of 2010 to help us advocate for low-income people with severe mental illness in New York City. We strive to challenge our interns and to provide the supervision necessary for them to succeed. Students will have the opportunity to interview clients, represent clients at administrative hearings, research and write briefs, and work on class actions, systemic reforms, and test cases. Many summer interns have chosen to continue their work here into the academic year, and some have gone on to win Skadden, Open Societies Institute, Kirkland and Ellis, and Equal Justice Works fellowships.
MHP combines direct service with systemic advocacy. For hundreds of clients each year, we stop evictions, win Social Security, obtain public assistance benefits, and secure medical insurance. Based on what we learn from our clients, we educate, organize, and litigate for systemic change. Our groundbreaking systemic work has been covered by the New York Times, El Diario, Telemundo, the Daily News, Newsday, Rolling Stone, New York 1, WNBC, WABC, WNYC, WBAI, Inside Edition, and the Boston Globe. For more information, visit the project home page at http://www.urbanjustice.org/ujc/projects/mental.html.
The Urban Justice Center is an equal opportunity employer. Mental health consumers, people with disabilities, people of color, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans-gendered people are encouraged to apply. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and students are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Summer internships start the day after Memorial Day and continue for at least 10 consecutive weeks. To apply, please mail a resume, writing sample (must be legal research under 5 pages), and 3 references to Dara Wilensky (dwilensky@urbanjustice.org).
Summer and Fall 2010 Internship/Externship
Sex Workers Project
Using human rights and harm reduction approaches, the Sex Workers Project protects and promotes the rights of individuals who engage in sex work, regardless of whether they do so by choice, circumstance, or coercion. In addition to providing direct legal and social services to over a hundred individual clients a year in immigration, criminal legal, civil, and police misconduct matters, we offer "know your rights" trainings for sex workers and people who have been trafficked, and conduct training and outreach to service providers and community organizations who may come into contact with trafficked persons or sex workers.
The Sex Workers Project is looking for highly motivated problem-solvers committed to advancing the rights of sex workers and survivors of trafficking. Legal interns will work closely with staff attorneys on a wide range of cases and policy issues, which may include applications for special visas for trafficking survivors and asylees, depositions on impact litigation for survivors of police brutality, and advancing a pro-sex workers rights legislative agenda. Applicants should have excellent writing, research, and interpersonal skills and an awareness of the systemic barriers facing our diverse client and constituent populations.
Interns are expected to work 12 hours a week, with a minimum of 8 hours in the office. Full-time externs are also needed. Both positions are unpaid.
To apply: email a cover letter, resume, and writing sample to Sienna Baskin (sbaskin@urbanjustice.org).
For more information: www.sexworkersproject.org.
Applying for Interships
The UJC always welcomes internships. If you are interested, please review our website to determine which project you would like to apply for, and write to:
Urban Justice Center
Attn: Director, Project Name
123 William Street 16th Floor
New York, NY, 10038
We cannot respond to telephone calls, emails, or other inquiries concerning applications.
NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY
The Urban Justice Center does not discriminate against any applicant on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, physical or mental disability, political belief, marital status, veteran status, age, gender identity, or sexual orientation.