How Do I Become a Hotline/Advocacy Volunteer?

DCRCC holds three trainings per year, typically in September, January and May. Our trainings are eight weeks in length, two nights a week--Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-9pm.

The training covers crisis counseling, medical, and legal issues related to sexual assault. It includes lectures and discussions as well as role-plays to practice counseling techniques. We also address social issues which impact both our clients and our ability to be there for them, including racism, homophobia, and cross-cultural counseling.

Included within the eight-week training, there are two mandatory Saturday classes. These trainings allow us to spend a day at the Washington Hospital Center familiarizing trainees with the SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners) program and the role of the advocate, as well as a day-long training devoted to addressing ISM’s (racism, sexism, classism, homophobism, etc.) - how they affect our work as volunteers, the clients with whom we work, and the systems with whom they interact.