How Do I Become a Hotline/Advocacy Volunteer?

DCRCC holds three trainings per year, typically in September, January and May. Our fall, 2010 training class has filled to capacity. However, we are now accepting applications for the class starting in January, 2011. 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.