Victoria Women's Transition House

Dear Potential Volunteer:

Victoria Women's Transition House appreciates your interest in becoming a volunteer with our organization. Volunteers are integral to the operation of Transition House, which provides emergency shelter services and counselling to over 275 women each year. Nearly 250 children accompany their mothers to the shelter in any given year and they too receive counselling and support. In addition to our shelter services, Transition House provides community counselling, both individual and group, to abused women and their children. Each year over 450 women and 100 children receive our community outreach counselling services.

Volunteering with Transition House is an opportunity to make a very worthwhile contribution to your community. Transition House offers a number of different volunteering opportunities:

• In-House Volunteers
• Crisis Line Volunteers
• Community Office Volunteers

In-House Volunteer Program

In-House Volunteers support the shelter, residents and staff. Since there is a wide range of tasks that need doing to keep our House running smoothly, volunteers can choose how they would like to help. Some tasks include housework, cooking, childcare, or sorting donations. Although In-House Volunteers do not provide counselling for residents and do not always interact directly with the residents, the tasks the volunteers perform support the House in many ways.

In-House Volunteers at Transition House work one three-hour shift each week. It is preferable that this shift be at a regular time each week, however, we do our best to accommodate everyone's schedule. We ask that each volunteer commit to at least 150 hours, which takes approximately one year to fulfill.

Crisis Line Volunteer Program

Each year our crisis lines receive over 2000 client related calls. Crisis Line Volunteers are relied upon by the shelter counselling staff to share in the answering of crisis and client related phone calls. These volunteers work on the phone with women requesting emergency shelter, women needing support and information, as well as people concerned about family and friends living in abusive relationships. These phone calls last anywhere from ten minutes to one hour.

Crisis Line Volunteers are required to work one four hour shift each week mostly weekdays and evenings. Each volunteer is asked to shift at the same time weekly. We ask that each volunteer commit to at least 200 hours, which takes approximately one year to fulfill.

Community Office Volunteers

Our Community Office is our contact with the community; a place where people pick up information, drop off donations and do business with our agency. It also houses our Children Who Witness Abuse Program and our Stopping the Violence (women's counselling) Program, both of which provide individual and group counselling to community members who may or may not have accessed our shelter services.

Community Office volunteers work as receptionists at the office, answering calls, greeting people, answering questions and being, in many cases, the initial contact for the agency. These volunteers also provide basic administrative support to other office staff. Experience in an office environment is required. Volunteers are needed for Thursday afternoon or Friday shifts. Shifts are three hours long and a commitment of 150 hours is required, which takes approximately one year to fulfill.

Requirements For Volunteering With The Transition House

In order to be accepted as a volunteer with the Victoria Women's Transition House, all In-House and Crisis Line Volunteers must:

• attend all sessions of the respective training programs (see Training Sched.)
• be able to commit to the required weekly shift and the one year agreement
• be mature with a non-judgmental attitude
• sign a Volunteer Commitment Agreement
• have a feminist appreciation or alliance
• be willing to undergo a Criminal Record check
• be stable, as volunteering with Transition House can be emotionally challenging
• be at least 18 years old
• be comfortable working with women from different cultural backgrounds and sexual orientations
• respect women's rights regarding life choices and reproductive rights

If you have been in an abusive relationship yourself, we request that you be out of this relationship for at least:

• one year for Community Office Volunteers
• two years for In-House Volunteers
• three years for Crisis Line Volunteers

We also require that you have undergone personal counselling which focussed on your abusive relationship.

Finally, all volunteers at Transition House are also expected to attend meetings, which occur monthly for Crisis Line Volunteers and every three months for In-House and Community Office volunteers.

Training

The Volunteer Training Program provides an opportunity to learn about the issues of abuse against women. All training programs explore the effects of abusive relationships on women and their children, the experiences of residents at Transition House and the roles of staff and volunteers. All training programs are interactive, combine theory with practice, and provide volunteers with tools needed on the job.

The Crisis Line Volunteer training, in particular, provides in-depth information about the issue of abuse and violence against women. Each Crisis Line Volunteer is expected to complete reading and homework assignments, including a final tape-recorded role-play with another participant.

In order to volunteer with Transition House, all potential volunteers are required to attend all training dates for their program (see attached Training Schedule). As this training is vital to fulfilling your role as a volunteer, there are no exceptions!

Other Information

Enclosed is an application form for you to submit if you meet the requirements listed above, are willing to make the commitment described and can attend the training program described above. Either a representative from Transition House or I will contact you to discuss your application further or to arrange for a personal interview. Unfortunately, not all applicants are accepted to become volunteers. If you are unable to attend the scheduled training session for your desired volunteer program but would like to apply for future training sessions, please indicate your intent on your application form.

If you are interested in a different volunteer experience than what Transition House has to offer, please contact the Victoria Volunteer Bureau at 386-2269 for volunteering alternatives in Victoria.

Victoria Women's Transition House appreciates the compassion and interest that you show by applying to volunteer with us. Just as the commitment required to volunteer at Transition House will be significant, so too is the personal reward of making such an important contribution. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Dianne de Champlain
Volunteer Program Coordinator
380-7527 extension 13
dianned@vwth.bc.ca