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Well, I guess no one is going to see me in the month of June.
I went to the orientation last night. 30 women showed up for 23 open training slots, which meant that I needed to decide quickly if I was truly interested and willing.
Jordan, the volunteer coordinator, introduced herself and the other BARCC staff, then had us go around the room and introduce ourselves and tell where we worked/went to school and why we were interested in volunteering at a rape crisis center.
At least half the women in the room had been attacked themselves. Another handful are social work students. One is a member of the Boston police force, taking the training for a job requirement.
By the time the woman before me finished speaking, my heart was pounding. I wasn�t sure what I was going to say.
�Hi, I�m Jennifer. I work in the administrative area of the Radiology department of one of the Longwood hospitals. I�m here because I have�had�a good friend who was a BARCC volunteer several years ago, and she tried several times to get me to volunteer with her, but I couldn�t make the time then. Two summers ago, she was kidnapped, raped and murdered. I�m doing this for her.�
Several of the staff discussed the different areas they specialize in. One explained the medical advocacy program, whose volunteers accompany rape survivors (not victims�always survivors) to the initial hospital visit and subsequent doctor appointments if necessary. Medical advocates are required to attend two monthly meetings and to take at least one 6-8 hour beeper shift per week. The woman talking said that she had been terrified to get her first call, because it would mean that something terrible happened to another person, but that after her first trip to the hospital, she understood that the attack would have happened anyway. This way, at least the woman she accompanied had someone in her corner who was well trained and compassionate.
Someone else talked about working on the hotline. She and other hotline workers staff the phones for at least one 6-8 hour shift each week, and attend two monthly meetings as well. Hotline workers average 3-5 calls on an evening shift. Callers vary from women who have just been attacked to women who are dealing much later with the aftermath of an earlier attack, to the family, friends and partners of survivors.
Two other volunteers told us about the public education programs run by BARCC. Public education volunteers, like the others, meet twice monthly and also commit to 2-4 public engagements per month. The events could be visits to an elementary school, high school or college, a women�s group, a church, a rehab facility, a public fair�any place that BARCC is asked to speak, they are able to send someone, thanks to the volunteer program. While the other two areas deal with the aftermath of an attack, the public education volunteers work more on prevention.
Each of the volunteer programs requires a yearlong commitment from the start of training on. Jordan explained that although they know it�s a huge amount of time they ask for from their volunteer staff, each person�s training costs the center over three thousand dollars, so it�s important to train people who truly are dedicated to being involved for a good length of time.
We were all given applications to fill out which asked questions in detail about our background, our reasons for wanting to volunteer, our ability to meet the time requirements of the program, our strengths and weaknesses, our fears about being involved in the training and the center, our goals in going through the training process. Then we met individually with one of the staff to review our applications, ask questions and get a better feel for the center.
Before we left, Jordan told us she�d be calling everyone today to let us know who would be given a slot in the training. Because there were only 23 available spaces, a handful of the women in the room would not be asked to participate.
I met with Nicki, one of the public ed volunteers, which was good, since I was leaning in that direction. I�m not good on the phone, as I get easily distracted, and I don�t think I�m ready for the hands-on, immediate nature of the medical advocacy program. By the time our conversation was over, I was ready to make the time sacrifice necessary to go through the training. I feel like whatever I lose, I�ll gain back in spades.
Jordan called me this morning and told me she was �very pleased� to offer me a spot in the training. I happily accepted.
It starts on Tuesday.
I�m very, very glad to be starting this.
I�m also scared out of my wits.
Oh�Jordan also suggested letting the people around us know that we were going through the training process, and that it�s going to be an emotional and intense month. So�consider yourselves warned. Although a lot of the specifics of what we learn will be confidential, I�m sure the overflow from the experience is going to come out here.
We can all go through the training together.
Are you excited? Good. Glad to hear it.
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