Title: ALCC Four Corners Community Trails Individual Placement

Stipend: $650.00 weekly living stipend and $220.00 housing reimbursement

Dates: 10/17/2022 - 3/30/2023

Term: 32 weeks, full time

Reports To: Community Outreach & Patient Empowerment (COPE) & Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps

Location: Four Corners Region, work site: Teec Nos Pos, AZ reporting office site: COPE office: 208 W Coal Ave. Gallup NM 87301

Status: 900-hour AmeriCorps Service Term

Benefits: AmeriCorps Education Award $3,172.50 after successful completion of term

Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps’ (ALCC) Mission:

It is the mission of the Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps to lead our nations back to cultural and ecological well being. The Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps is specifically designed to engage Native American youth and young adults. Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps serves local tribal communities in the regions we operate. Native American applicants are preferred.

Community Outreach & Patient Empowerment (COPE) Overview:

COPE Mission: COPE believes that the power to overturn long-standing, historical health inequalities lies inherently in Native communities themselves. By investing in existing community resources and aligning our work with the vision of tribal leadership, we hope to help catalyze this transformation within our lifetime.

COPE Vision: Our vision is to eliminate health disparities and improve the wellbeing of American Indians and Alaska Natives. COPE strives to promote healthy, prosperous, and empowered Native communities through three collaborative approaches:
- Robust, community-based outreach
- Local capacity building and system-level partnerships
- Increasing access to healthy foods

Rooted in our organization's Mission and Vision, COPE works closely with a number of communities across Navajo to promote health and wellness initiatives, including Four Corners community.

ALCC Four Corners Community Trails Individual Placement (IP) Overview:

COPE collaborates with the Teec Nos Pos Chapter on Navajo Nation to improve existing trails and plan for new trails/walking paths to promote health and wellness in the community. Our goal is to keep the project community-centered and work collaboratively with the leadership and community. The Individual Placement (IP) is requested to help our group work effectively with the chapter and community to coordinate and execute trails work through a respectful partnership. The Individual Placement will help organize trainings, community volunteer days, lead trail-building activities and help foster collaborative, meaningful relationships within the Four Corners Area. The Individual Placement will gain skills working closely with community leaders and regional stakeholders. Mentorship will be provided to the IP by COPE, ALCC and local community members to work with the community in a positive and meaningful way.

The IP will focus on building, improving, and enhancing trails and walkways to communities engaged with COPE. The IP intern will organize trail-building events and workshops in collaboration with the Teec Nos Pos Chapter and Four Corners Community Partnership for Health Equity (CPHE) group to construct and enhance trails and walkways. The IP intern will coordinate monthly meetings, conduct a site assessment, plan and facilitate community trail building workshops, and provide written and public updates to the COPE team and the Teec Nos Pos leadership.

Essential functions and responsibilities:

This ALCC Four Corners Trails Individual Placement will work to complete tasks and projects outlined below.

1) Assist with trail assessments for improvements and enhancements

• Work with the site supervisor and ALCC to conduct a trail site assessment
• Communicate findings of trail site assessment to the local leadership, the Four Corners CPHE and community members
• Keep records of community input and progress of improvements and enhancements

2) Plan and facilitate community trail building trainings and workshops

• Work closely with the Teec Nos Pos Chapter and COPE to plan trail building trainings and workshops
• Assist with recruiting local volunteers for the trail building activities
• Coordinate and execute trail building activities alongside community members
• Document workshops and trainings through short reports and attendance sheets

3) Plan and facilitate monthly Trail Meetings

• Assist with planning monthly meetings (virtual or in-person) based on local recommendations to ensure ongoing community dialogue and feedback about trails work
• Document meetings with agendas, notes, and attendance sheets
• Provide follow-up on action items addressed at the meetings with appropriate organization, community, or regional stakeholders

• Ability to work 8 hours outdoors
• Ability to lift 50 pounds and use hand tools i.e. shovels, pick axes, rakes, etc.
• Strong verbal, oral, and written communication skills to communicate effectively and professionally with colleagues, community partners, and community members
• Ability to take direction and work independently and collaboratively as a member of a team
• Proficient in Microsoft applications including Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint
• Willingness to learn and ask questions

• Trail building/trail crew experience (preferred not required)
• Organizational skills
• Interest in and commitment to Navajo (AI/AN) health and health promotion
• Knowledge of Navajo culture and language