Over the past 20 years, Victims Services has trained over 160 volunteer victim advocates and numerous interns.
Victims Services believes in the empowerment of victims to become survivors. To accomplish this, the staff is on call during the business day and volunteer advocates are on-call by their cell phones after business hours and all day/night on weekends and holidays to respond to emergencies. Advocates speak with the client by phone or meet in a safe, neutral location (hospital, police station, The Link) to assist the client through the crisis situation.
Advocate Training
There are two components of the advocate training session: classes and core groups. Included within the sessions are lectures, tours of facilities, group discussions, role-play activities, readings, and evaluations. The training session lasts approximately 10 weeks. The first 8 weeks are classes and core groups and then the following 2 weeks are to complete several evaluations. This ensures that our advocates are well prepared to work with clients. All told, the training encompasses approximately 40 hours.
A person must have the time to complete the training session and then be willing to provide a minimum of 12 months of volunteer services once the training session is completed.
A minimum of 3 on-call shifts per month for an advocate is expected. Only individuals who demonstrate a strong commitment to working with victims are accepted into the training.
Advocates learn to be good listeners, empathetic helpers, and knowledgeable paraprofessionals. The volunteers are dedicated, caring, and energetic people who are hired into a variety of positions helping others. They have gone on to have careers as sexual assault program coordinators, lawyers, teachers, medical doctors, victim assistance program advocates, mental health counselors, volunteer coordinators, social workers, and much more.
Over and over, we have heard back from volunteers that the training they received from Victims Services was the deciding factor in getting their jobs!
“I love being able to work with different people knowing that victims are not of one race, or sex, or age, and knowing that I help all types of people.”
–2 year advocate with Victims Services
Click here for an application.
Interns
If you have completed the advocate training, then you can sign on for an internship with Victims Services. (We do not take any interns who have not already completed the semester-long advocate training, so plan accordingly).
Interns perform the same tasks as staff: being on-call during the day, attending court hearings, co-facilitating support groups, etc.
In addition, interns pick a specific project they would like to work on during their semester of internship, such as the DV Victims Storeroom, the Clothesline Project, a Sexual Assault Awareness Month activity, etc. We encourage interns to pick projects which match their skills and interests. Interns also work on other tasks as needed in order to receive a well-rounded experience in how a social service program is administered.
Interns typically have office hours for 10 or more hours a week. Commit to Victims Services for your intern experiences and you will build a great resume!
“When I decided to volunteer with Victims Services, I knew that I would have the opportunity to help people and gain experience in the field, but I had no idea how much it would influence my life.”
-4 year advocate of Victims Services
