Community Safety Worker

Organization Description:

Founded in 2016, Focused Interruption was created by a small group of community members, many of whom have been directly impacted by gun violence and the criminal justice system. These volunteers were committed to taking action to end the growing gun violence in Dane County. Over five years, Focused Interruption has provided counseling and support to over 300 victims and perpetrators of gun violence, visiting area hospitals at all hours of night and day partnered with the City of Madison to address gun violence.

Our mission is to use a holistic approach to reduce generational trauma by providing evidence-based intervention and prevention services to the people, neighborhoods, and families most impacted by gun violence.

Position Summary:

The Community Safety Worker is a community-based professional within our Focused Interruption Organization. This role focuses on low-level community engagement building everyday relationships, being a steady and trusted presence, supporting Community through minor conflicts, and connecting people to social and crisis services.

This is the relationship-building and prevention side of the program. The Community Safety Worker helps create the trust and stability that make communities safer over time. Higher-risk situations and acute violence response are handled by dedicated violence-interruption staff. The Community Safety Worker's job is to recognize those situations and hand them off, not to manage them alone.

This is a rewarding, people-first role for someone who is approachable, patient, and genuinely invested in the well-being of their neighbors.

Key Responsibilities

Community presence and relationship-building

• Work in pairs during community-based assignments, following Focused Interruption’s safety procedures
• Maintain a visible, consistent, and approachable presence in the neighborhoods served.
• Build everyday relationships with community members, families, business owners and community groups.
• Serve as a friendly, trusted first point of contact for questions, concerns and requests for help.
• Attend and support community meetings, events and gatherings.

Low-level conflict support

• Respond to minor disputes, neighbor disagreements, and everyday tensions in a calm, non-judgmental way.
• Use active listening and simple de-escalation to help people work through low-level conflicts.
• Follow up to help repair relationships and prevent small issues from recurring.
• Recognize when a situation carries a risk of serious violence or is beyond the scope of this role, and refer it promptly to violence-interruption staff or the appropriate emergency services.

Connecting Communityto services

• Identify community members who may benefit from support and provide warm, hands-on referrals.
• Help people navigate social services, crisis lines, healthcare, housing, food and other community resources.
• Follow up to make sure community members were able to access the help they needed.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of local services and strong relationships with partner organizations.

General

• Keep accurate, confidential records of interactions, referrals and follow-ups.
• Share observations about neighborhood needs and trends with the wider team.
• Follow all safety, confidentiality and lone-working policies and procedures.

Qualifications

Essential

• Experience working with the public, communities, or vulnerable individuals in a support, outreach, or frontline role.
• Familiarity with and strong ties to, the communities served and the ability to build trust across diverse groups.
• Strong interpersonal and active-listening skills.
• Comfort with basic de-escalation and everyday conflict resolution.
• Good judgment about the limits of the role and when to escalate or refer.
• Knowledge of, or ability to quickly learn, local social service and crisis resources.
• Good organizational skills and basic computer literacy for record-keeping.

Desirable

• Lived experience of, or deep familiarity with, the neighborhoods served.
• Bilingual skills relevant to the community served.
• Training in de-escalation, mediation, mental health first aid or trauma-informed care.
• Experience working alongside social services, healthcare or community organizations.

Key Competencies

• Empathy and a genuine commitment to helping others.
• Cultural humility and respect for people of all backgrounds.
• Patience, reliability and a steady, approachable manner.
• Good judgment about safety and about the boundaries of the role.
• Discretion and respect for confidentiality.

Job Requirements

Certifications / Licenses

• Valid Driver's License with an acceptable driving record

Knowledge and Skill Levels

Intermediate knowledge to perform most work in normal situations. Comprehension of standard situations includes knowledge of most of the significant aspects of the subject.

Reading Intermediate: Ability to read papers, periodicals, journals, manuals, dictionaries and thesauruses.

Writing Basic: Ability to write simple sentences containing subject, verb and object,and/or series of numbers, names and addresses.

Math Intermediate: Ability to deal with a system of real numbers and practical application of fractions, percentages, ratios/proportions and measurement.

Communication Skills Decisions regarding interpretation of existing policies may be made. Contacts may involve stressful, negative interactions requiring high levels of tact and the ability to respond to aggressive interpersonal interactions.

Technical Skills Work requires the use of standard technical skills appropriate to the work environment of the organization.

Additional Requirements

• This position is subject to a background check.
• The role involves working outdoors and in the community in varied conditions.
• Some evening and weekend work may be required.

What We Offer

• Paid time off
• Training, supervision and professional development
• Wellbeing and peer support

How to Apply

Please submit your resume and a brief cover letter describing why you're interested in working for Focused Interruption and your interest in the role to the application portal by October 16, 2026.

Focused Interruption is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds and especially encourage people with strong ties to the communities we serve to apply. We are committed to supporting the safety and dignity of every resident.