Portland Housing Authority – Student Engagement Specialist

Position Summary

Position details

Start Date: 08/25/2025
End Date: 07/23/2026
Term Date: Note: Start and end dates flexible
Location: Portland, ME
Focus Area: Age Friendly, Agriculture and Hunger, Community Outreach, Poverty, Public Health, Youth

Together with its community partners, the Portland Housing Authority (PHA) provides and expands affordable housing and services that improve quality of life, build community, enhance safety, and promote personal success for the people served and the neighborhoods in which they reside. AmeriCorps members at PHA serve in one of the organization’s three education centers, where the collective goal is to help students succeed. Afternoons are drop-in time for youth and blend academic support with social emotional engagement and creative expression. The centers are communal spaces for educational assistance for residents of all ages, resource centers for exploring post-secondary opportunities, and hubs for youth leadership development and community service. Members are responsible for supervising and maintaining a safe, comfortable environment where students of all ages and developmental levels can thrive both academically and socially. Members work together with staff to plan and facilitate supplemental educational and aspirational programming as well as build and maintain relationships with families, volunteers, service providers, and schools. Mentoring is the backbone of our programming with intentional efforts to support basic needs beyond academic support such as food access, social emotional support, and life skills development. www.porthouse.org Public Health AmeriCorps program places members with community organizations in Maine to address CDC determined public health needs for the most underserved populations. Public Health Youth Development members strive to narrow this gap by increasing social and emotional skills and academic engagement among students, grades 4-12, who have been impacted by Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), including immigrant and refugee youth (grades 4–12). Members support a portfolio of youth through mentoring, school skills support, social and emotional wellness, and community engagement, while building organizational capacity.

AmeriCorps members are responsible for supporting and maintaining a safe environment where marginalized students of all ages and developmental levels can thrive both academically and socially. Members serve alongside staff in one of our public housing communities to plan and facilitate supplemental educational and aspirational programming as well as build and maintain relationships with families, volunteers, service providers, and schools. Mentoring is the backbone of our programming with intentional efforts to support basic needs beyond academic support such as food access, social emotional support, and life skills development.

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Organization

Portland Housing Authority

Portland, ME

Public Health AmeriCorps Youth Development

Public Health AmeriCorps Youth Development members serve youth who have been impacted by Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), while building a foundation for youth development and academic engagement in Maine schools and nonprofits.