Working With Volunteers

Many volunteers are needed to provide a consistent level of quality services to victims of mass violence and terrorism during a trial. The work of these volunteers is as important as that of staff in achieving the project mission. It is essential to view volunteers as important members of the team who are worth developing and nurturing. Volunteers need to be recruited, trained, and credentialed. They also need to be apprised of confidentiality and legal liability in working with victims.

Volunteers may work one time at the Safe Haven or commit themselves full time to the project. For the professional support team, however, it is difficult, if not impossible, to dedicate resources to a formal team-building process with volunteers who will work on a project only once or twice. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that volunteers commit to a minimum of 3 to 5 continuous days. This recommendation is based on the availability of competent and skilled professionals who are willing to donate their time.

Volunteer Management Resources

• Volunteer Recruiting, Training, and Credentialing
• Volunteer Confidentiality and Legal Liability
• Volunteer Release of Liability and Confidentiality Agreement (PDF 76.7 kb)
• Sample Volunteer Interview Questions (PDF 14.8 kb)
• Sample Volunteer Application (PDF 19.5 kb)