I (almost) completed DAWN’s 50 hour training to work as a volunteer domestic violence advocate, and today was my first day on the crisis line. Actually, I didn’t talk to any of the callers — I shadowed an advocate to listen in on what she’d say to callers, did data entry on each call, learned about available resources, etc.

This was a busy morning, with one call following another following another. Moms worried about their daughters’ relationships, a woman looking for immediate shelter, a soon-to-be-ex-wife looking for financial help to get through a dragged-out divorce. There’s a lot of need out there, at the very least for accurate information on the law, your rights, and access to the myriad of resources available.  It feels good to be able to connect a person in need with the help they are seeking, to bring just a bit of relief to someone in the anxiety of crisis.

The next volunteer training is in late June.  There’s always the need for volunteers, so if you are looking for a super-worthwhile cause, this could be it.  I’ll be checking the schedule to make up those classes I missed while out of town, so maybe I’ll see you there.