About this role
Safety. Hope. Empowerment.
About LAWS- and Why This Role Matters
Serving Loudoun since 1984 Free Confidential Trauma-informed Survivor-centered
For more than 40 years, LAWS has been where Loudoun County turns when domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, or child abuse shatters a life. It began in 1984 with three local women, $3,000, and immeasurable determination; a year later, they opened the county's first- and still only- emergency shelter for survivors fleeing domestic violence. Today, LAWS is the County's designated provider of free, confidential services for survivors: a 24/7 crisis hotline, emergency shelter, on-staff attorneys providing free legal representation (the only domestic violence and sexual assault nonprofit in Virginia to do so), trauma therapy for children and adults, hospital accompaniment, bilingual services, prevention education, and the Loudoun Child Advocacy Center. LAWS also holds the county's response together- coordinating the Domestic Abuse Response Team, co-leading the Sexual Assault Response Team, and convening the child-abuse Multidisciplinary Team- so help arrives coordinated rather than fragmented.
The need has never been greater. In fiscal year 2025 alone, LAWS answered 1,256 crisis calls- 162 of them flagged as potential homicide risks- and provided 4,291 nights of safe shelter to 178 people, more than half of them children. Its advocates logged 5,224 hours alongside 707 survivors; its attorneys secured 36 protective orders; and its Child Advocacy Center conducted 197 forensic interviews for children. Since 2019, survivors report abuse that is dramatically more dangerous- weapons used or threatened up 77 percent, and homelessness caused by domestic violence up 161 percent. Through all of it, LAWS never turns a survivor away and stewards its resources so carefully that 73 cents of every dollar goes straight to services- earning it 2025 Best Nonprofit in Loudoun.
Every survivor who comes through our doors has already shown extraordinary courage by asking for help. Our responsibility as a community is to make sure that when they do, we have a place worthy of that courage.
Where This Role Comes In – PRN Evening Weekend Shelter Specialist (Sat/Sun 4pm-12am)
As a Weekend Shelter Specialist, you help make safety a possibility for survivors. this position provides on-site support at the shelter during the evening weekend shift (4pm – 12am). In a 24-hour emergency shelter, you are often one of the first people a survivor encounters when seeking safety and support. You help survivors navigate a difficult moment with compassion, stability, and respect while ensuring the shelter remains a safe, welcoming, and trauma-informed environment.
As a Shelter Specialist, you will support survivors and their children affected by the trauma of domestic violence through trauma-informed intakes, crisis intervention, safety planning, referrals, transportation, and connection to LAWS' comprehensive service continuum. You will also respond to hotline calls and high danger or Loudoun's Lethality Assessment Protocol (LAP) calls, helping survivors access support whether or not they enter LAWS' emergency shelter.
This is a role for someone who understands that safety is more than a physical place. It is also about survivor choice, emotional and physical safety, trust, empowerment, confidentiality, and access to resources. You will work collaboratively across programs to meet survivor needs while maintaining the flexibility required to support a 24-hour emergency shelter environment.
Primary Duties:
- Provide trauma-informed, survivor-led intake, crisis intervention, safety planning, information and referrals, and warm handoffs to survivors seeking shelter or other LAWS services.
- Respond to survivor hotline calls and high-danger calls as part of Loudoun's Lethality Assessment Protocol (LAP), providing support, information, referrals, and connection to safety.
- Support survivors and their children with basic needs, transportation, community resources, and access to services from shelter entry through departure.
- Help maintain a safe, clean, welcoming, and trauma-informed shelter environment that promotes survivor choice, emotional and physical safety, trust, empowerment, and healing.
Organizational Values
- Empathy
- Accountability
- Empowerment
- Adaptability
- Effective Communication
Required Education and Experience
- High School Diploma/ GED
- 1 year in human services field, crisis intervention services, or answering hotline calls.
- Experience providing crisis intervention and de-escalation support
- Ability to maintain confidentiality and professional boundaries.
Preferred
- Bilingual/ Multilingual
- Experience working with domestic violence survivors
- Experience answering a crisis hotline
- Experience in a communal living shelter or residential setting
LAWS is an equal opportunity employer.
LAWS is a drug-free workplace
READY TO JOIN OUR TEAM?
We know your time is valuable, so we offer a quick and easy application process. A cover letter is preferred, as it helps us learn more about your interest in supporting survivors and why you would like to join the LAWS team.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Post-Conditional Offer Contingencies: Criminal background, sex offender