Dear Prospective Volunteer Team Member, 

 

We are so excited you are interested in volunteering for SAFE in Hunterdon! Our volunteers are critical and much appreciated members of our team. We would be unable to provide services at the level of excellence we aspire to without people like you contributing to our success. Your dedication, hard work, and volunteer time will always be respected, appreciated, and valued by every person associated with SAFE, from the President of the Board of Directors to the Team Coordinators to our partner organizations.   

There are many volunteer opportunities at SAFE, which allows us to have a diverse group of volunteers with assorted schedules, life experiences, and motivations to serve. What unites our team members is their commitment to help survivors of domestic and sexual violence heal from trauma in a supportive, caring, and healthy environment. Some volunteers choose to work directly with clients during a moment of crisis as part of our Emergency Services Unit.   

SAFE maintains two response teams – the Domestic Violence Response Team and the Sexual Violence Response Team. Although members of both teams train together, volunteers may choose to be part of one or both of them depending on their own personal comfort level. Team members respond to assist victims in the controlled, safe environments of hospitals, police departments, and courthouses every day of the year, at all hours. This means that our volunteers are able to sign up for shifts that fit their schedules, while still providing a critical service to the community.   

After joining a team, you will be speaking with a survivor directly and personally while they seek services through either a law enforcement officer, the courts, or a medical provider. You will be providing them with information on various support services, facts on the legal process, and direct emotional support. Many of our survivors indicate that our crisis team members were a vital part of their healing process – one of the greatest gifts we can give to another person is the knowledge that they are not alone, and that is something you will be given the opportunity to do in every volunteer shift you sign up for. 

SAFE in Hunterdon will provide you with extensive training before you respond to your first crisis incident. Volunteers for the response teams complete sixty hours of mandatory training, broken down into two three-hour sessions held twice a week over the course of ten weeks in Flemington. Training includes some lectures, discussions, and scenario-based practice. All volunteers also receive extensive written training materials, quick-reference guides, and all the supplies they need to succeed in their new role. 

At the completion of training, you will be asked to sign up for a minimum of two twelve-hour shifts a month. SAFE hosts volunteer meetings every other month to provide on-going and updated information, troubleshoot, and keep our volunteers connected to our organization and vital cause. Although some of our volunteers are motivated simply by a desire to help their community, we are also happy to have people choose to help because they are looking for experience in the fields of social work, law enforcement, or victim services. All volunteers are welcome, but at this time we are unable to accommodate interns through the Response Team Programs. 

SAFE in Hunterdon also has some people decide to volunteer with us because SAFE, or a similar organization, has helped them in their own personal time of crisis. Experience with crisis is never a requirement to volunteer with SAFE – our services are strong, and survivor based, which means our own personal life experiences do not become part of our crisis response. We greatly appreciate the survivors who choose to return to help others. Due to the sensitive nature of trauma, we do ask that you have completed your own healing journey and be at a minimum of three years past your own crisis experience before joining our response teams. 

In addition to successfully completing the required training, volunteers are required to undergo a background check and also disclose any personal conflicts or relationships they may have with partner agencies so that we can make sure to coordinate shifts in ways that allow for neutral services. 

We would love to discuss our volunteer opportunities further. Please contact Emergency Services Supervisor Marika Gray at mgray@safeinhunterdon.org with any questions or to sign up for the next training class. 

Your time, efforts, and dedication to the cause is much appreciated and we look forward to having you succeed in providing crisis services to Hunterdon County survivors of domestic and sexual violence. 

 Sincerely, 

SAFE in Hunterdon’s Emergency Services