Afterschool Program Assistant

Employee Category: Part-time

Hours: 20-25 Hours per week 

Compensation: $20/hour

Reports To: Healing Hub Director/Program Leadership

Start Date: ASAP

Position Overview

Detroit Heals Detroit is seeking a caring, dependable, and youth-centered After-School Program Assistant to support our after-school programming for young people. This position plays an important role in creating a space where youth can receive academic support, explore their interests, build meaningful relationships, and have opportunities to process, heal, and grow.

The After-School Program Assistant will provide homework and tutoring support, assist with enrichment activities, support daily program operations, and help facilitate Detroit Heals Detroit's Healing Circles. The ideal candidate understands that supporting young people goes beyond academics and is committed to creating an environment where youth feel safe, seen, affirmed, challenged, and supported.

Key Responsibilities

Academic & Tutoring Support

• Provide individual and small-group tutoring and homework assistance.
• Help students strengthen skills in reading, writing, math, and other academic areas as needed.
• Encourage positive study habits, organization, goal-setting, and academic confidence.
• Help youth navigate assignments and projects without simply completing the work for them.
• Identify students who may need additional academic support and communicate those needs to program leadership.
• Celebrate academic growth, effort, consistency, and achievement.

Enrichment Programming

• Assist with planning and facilitating engaging after-school activities that expose youth to new skills, interests, and experiences.
• Support activities related to arts and creativity, wellness, leadership, life skills, culture, financial literacy, career exploration, recreation, and other enrichment areas.
• Help prepare materials and spaces for daily programming.
• Encourage youth participation while allowing young people to have voice and choice in their experience.
• Support field trips, special events, workshops, guest facilitators, and community-based activities when scheduled.

Healing Circles & Healing-Centered Engagement

• Assist with facilitating Detroit Heals Detroit's Healing Circles and other healing-centered programming.
• Help create spaces where young people can speak openly, build community, reflect, and feel heard without judgment.
• Support circle activities, discussion prompts, grounding exercises, relationship-building activities, and restorative practices.
• Model active listening, empathy, healthy communication, accountability, and respect.
• Maintain appropriate confidentiality while following organizational policies related to youth safety and mandated reporting.
• Help youth navigate conflict using restorative and relationship-centered approaches.
• Participate in training related to Healing Circles, trauma-informed practices, healing-centered engagement, and youth development.

Youth Engagement & Relationship Building

• Build consistent, trusting, and appropriate relationships with participating youth.
• Create an environment that is welcoming, affirming, culturally responsive, and inclusive.
• Encourage youth leadership and provide opportunities for young people to contribute ideas and help shape programming.
• Support young people experiencing frustration, conflict, or difficult emotions using de-escalation and relationship-centered strategies.
• Maintain appropriate professional boundaries with all youth.
• Serve as a positive, dependable adult presence within the Healing Hub.

Program Support & Safety

• Assist with student arrival, sign-in, dismissal, transitions, meals/snacks, and daily routines.
• Help maintain a clean, organized, welcoming, and safe program environment.
• Monitor youth during programming and activities.
• Follow all Detroit Heals Detroit policies related to youth safety, emergencies, incidents, and confidentiality.
• Document attendance, participation, incidents, and other required program information.
• Communicate concerns regarding youth safety, behavior, or well-being to program leadership promptly.
• Participate in staff meetings, training, program planning, and reflection sessions.
• Assist with other program-related responsibilities necessary to ensure a successful after-school experience.

Qualifications

Required:

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• Experience working with youth in a school, nonprofit, mentoring, tutoring, recreation, camp, community, or similar setting.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to work patiently and respectfully with young people from different backgrounds and experiences.
• Ability to support basic middle and/or high school academic work.
• Dependable, organized, flexible, and able to work collaboratively with a team.
• Commitment to youth voice, healing justice, racial equity, and community-centered work.
• Ability to maintain appropriate boundaries and confidentiality.
• Willingness to complete required background checks and organizational training.

Preferred:

• College coursework or degree in education, social work, psychology, youth development, human services, or a related field.
• Previous tutoring or academic support experience.
• Experience facilitating groups, circles, restorative practices, or social-emotional learning activities.
• Experience working with Detroit youth and families.
• Knowledge of trauma-informed and healing-centered approaches.

What We're Looking For

We are looking for someone who understands that young people do not have to leave their emotions, identities, or lived experiences at the door in order to learn.

The right person is warm but able to maintain boundaries, fun but dependable, patient but able to hold young people accountable, and comfortable building genuine relationships with youth. They should be willing to listen more than they lecture and understand that sometimes the most important part of an after-school program is making sure a young person knows there is an adult who sees them, believes in them, and will consistently show up.

Physical & Scheduling Expectations

This position may require standing, walking, sitting, participating in recreational activities, setting up program spaces, and occasionally lifting or moving program materials. Candidates should be available during designated after-school hours and for occasional staff trainings, special events, or field trips.

About Detroit Heals Detroit

Detroit Heals Detroit exists to foster healing justice for Detroit youth in which they are able to transform their pain into power. With a goal to combat trauma, we use healing centered engagement to share our greatest vulnerabilities with the rest of the world while simultaneously working to dismantle oppressive systems for marginalized Detroit youth.We are looking for 2 interns to help coordinate programming at our Youth-led Healing Hub. You must have a strategic mindset as well as be able to lead and work with young people. The goal is to ensure every program will be delivered successfully and add the highest possible value to the organization.

Equal Employment Opportunity Policy

Detroit Heals Detroit provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

We look forward to reviewing your application! Thank you for your commitment to mission-driven work!