Direct Care Intern

Bridgewell strengthens communities by providing an unmatched range of social and human services that empower people with disabilities and other life challenges to live safe, self-directed, and productive lives. Bridgewell delivers support through community housing, day programs, outpatient treatment, recovery services, education, and employment training. We're committed to helping people in need, from those with autism to people with substance use disorders, become engaged members of their communities. Bridgewell is also the industry leader in developing innovative offerings responding to unmet or emerging needs.

Our employees take pride in making every day count to its fullest. They are committed to adding value to the lives of the people we support, and they bring energy, ideas, and a passion for service. Does this describe you? Then please consider joining our incredible team!

Connecting People with Possibilities

Mission: Bridgewell inspires hope and empowers people experiencing life challenges to achieve their fullest potential.

Summary: Program Interns will have the ability to observe and shadow program staff with all essential job duties and care for the individuals within Bridgewell's programs. In the various program settings, an intern's initial focus will be on observation of individuals and building relationships, and then progress into sharing in activities, participating in community outings, and learning about the individual needs of each person supported. Following a period of observation and review of ISP, behavior support plans and other specialized support plans with the manager and program staff, the intern will gradually begin to participate in general care routines and program management activities including cooking, exercise routines, family interactions, and use of technology in the home for skill building. All interns are to remain with Bridgewell staff onsite through the length of the internship.

Schedule: Flexible schedule, up to 20 hours per week

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Assist individuals with all activities of daily living –may include meal prep, cooking, shopping, cleaning, taking walks, going to the movies, crafts, or even watching TV.
2. Observe and provide services to individuals according to, DDS, DMH, MassHealth, HUD, DPH, CARF and all applicable regulatory standards, and Bridgewell policies and procedures.
3. Maintain safety of all individuals including implementing emergency policies as needed.
4. Complete core training certifications including CPR/FA, OSHA, PABC, if applicable (Bridgewell provides training).
5. Any additional mandated trainings and certifications as required by the program.
6. May accompany staff as they transport individuals as needed.
7. Other duties as assigned.

Required Education/Experience:

1. High school seniors, new graduates, college students preferred.
2. Interest in finding out about the human services field
3. Desire to want to have fun, make a difference and learn new skills

Required Skills/Knowledge:

1. Great interpersonal skills.
2. written and oral communication skills so that writing of required documents is clear and articulate
3. Excellent organizational and problem-solving skills.
4. Computer literacy to include ability to use proficiently Microsoft products (Email, Word, Excel, etc.) and web-based applications used by the agency.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands of employees working in residential programs assisting people with their care needs are varied and require the employee to be able to maneuver people of varying weights, and provide lifting, balanced support and physical intervention in a few scenarios.

Described below are essential requirements of staff to ensure the safety of employees and people served alike. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable a person with a disability to perform the essential functions; however, approval will be based on the needs of the people served and consideration of safety factors related to any program or position within a program.

While performing the duties of this internship, the employee is required to be able to:

• Climb stairs, physically assist people served, often weighing more than 200 pounds, with movement, bathroom routines including toileting, assisting with entry and exit of a tub or shower, getting into and out of wheelchairs or dealing with assists that include physical, behavioral and medical interventions.
• Additional lifting or moving may be required as part of activities in the daily living of people in our services.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.

Bridgewell offers:

• Excellent health benefits-medical, dental, vision. We believe our benefits package is one of the most competitive.
• Generous paid time off includes your birthday (that's right, we even give you your birthday off!)
• A collaborative work environment that values new insight and personal contributions
• With over one hundred programs in the North Shore, Lowell, and Merrimack Valley we provide excellent opportunities for training and development.
• Additional compensation for on-call rotations
• Opportunities for professional development and growth

Why Should You Apply: If the top benefits alone don't sway you, our compassionate and collaborative work environment should! Bridgewell is committed to training and developing staff and provides opportunities for you to have a positive impact on the work you do.

Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.

Requires acceptable CORI results according to Bridgewell policy.

Bridgewell is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.

The pay range listed for this position is the hourly rate range the organization reasonably and in good faith expects to pay for this position at this time. Actual compensation is determined based on several factors, that may include seniority, education, training, relevant experience, relevant certifications, or other applicable factors permissible by law.