Empowering Community: Brave Space Alliance's Success with RiseKit
We sat down with Chrissy at Brave Space Alliance, a Black trans-led LGBTQ+ center in Chicago, to learn how they utilize RiseKit to enhance team coordination and connect their community with essential resources. Here's what she had to say --
How does the Brave Space Alliance serve the community?
Brave Space Alliance (BSA) is a Black trans-led LGBTQ+ center on the South Side of Chicago that creates and provides affirming and culturally competent services for the entire LGBTQ+ community of Chicago.
What is your role at Brave Space Alliance?
I’m a Senior Coordinator.
How many team members does BSA have?
We have about 17 staff members total.
How many participants do you work with on a monthly basis?
We typically work with 250-500 people/month as an organization.
What critical jobs does RiseKit help you fulfill during your day?
- Referrals: Without a navigator on staff, RiseKit allows me to quickly find services that BSA doesn’t offer and share options with our clients based on their needs.
- Program Recruitment: I’ll compose messages in RiseKit and promote BSA programs and events with our clients to help boost participation and attendance.
- Client Communication: RiseKit’s Chat tool helps me keep tabs on participants' progress and multi-task efficiently.
What’s your RiseKit process?
- We receive clients starting at 10 am.
- Our intake process asks what types of services they want and need.
- Our in-house services will be provided right away, but for services we don’t offer like housing, drug treatment, etc. — I go straight to RiseKit.
- In this case: I'll invite my clients to create a profile and leave it to them to start the process, but if they hit a bump in the road, I’ll help them by entering some of their information for them through my own account.
- Our team then shares resources like job opportunities and support services that we discuss as part of our intake process. This also helps them reach "job ready" in RiseKit as quickly as possible which allows their resume to be automatically promoted to employers.
- After this I’ll use the Chat tool to keep tabs on clients who get placed in jobs so they have continued support or send motivation to clients who are pursuing other resources they need to live with dignity.
- If they need a resume: I share a Google form asking them questions around their qualifications which allows us to compile a basic resume for them.
- Once we have a resume, I’ll add it to their RiseKit profile so they're enrolled in RiseKit's Recommendation Engine and have a better shot at getting noticed by local employers.
Check out some of the resources that Brave Space Alliance offers through RiseKit:
- HIV Testing
- Behavioral Health Services
- Dignity Suite Clothing Closet
Interested in learning more about how RiseKit can help you streamline job placements and enhance communication?
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