Volunteer Phone Advocate

SafePlace•Olympia, WA

46d

About The Position

SafePlace is a nonprofit organization providing crisis intervention, advocacy, and support services to survivors of domestic and sexual violence. We are committed to anti-oppression work, social justice, and trauma-informed care in all aspects of our services. The Volunteer Phone Advocate is responsible for providing confidential, survivor-centered support and advocacy to individuals who have experienced domestic and sexual violence via the SafePlace hotline. This includes crisis intervention, safety planning, emotional support, and information regarding community resources. The Volunteer Phone Advocate also works collaboratively with SafePlace staff to ensure that they are providing best-practice advocacy to survivors and receiving required training, debriefing, and support for their role.

Requirements

Background in social work, social services, criminal justice, or related field. One year’s experience working with survivors of trauma, sexual violence, or marginalized communities, or any equivalent combination of education and experience.
Commitment to social justice, anti-oppression, and survivor-centered practices.
Strong communication and emotional resilience skills.
Ability to maintain confidentiality and clear boundaries.
Available for on-call shifts, including evenings and weekends.
Completion of 30+ hours of domestic violence and sexual assault advocacy training is required prior to working directly with survivors.

Nice To Haves

Fluency in a second language (especially Spanish, ASL, or other commonly spoken languages in Thurston County).
Familiarity with local resources and systems (legal, healthcare, housing).

Responsibilities

Provide trauma-informed, culturally responsive support to domestic and sexual assault survivors of all genders and backgrounds.
Staff the 24-hour sexual assault response line according to the agreed upon shift(s).
Assist with safety planning, crisis intervention, and emotional support to hotline callers.
Maintain accurate and confidential documentation in accordance with organizational policies and state/federal guidelines.
Collaborate with staff to ensure up-to-date knowledge of best practices for phone advocacy and community resource knowledge and information.
Participate in regular supervision and required training.
Provide trauma-informed, culturally responsive support to callers.
Conduct crisis intervention, emotional support, safety planning, and provide resource referrals.
Respond to callers during assigned hotline shifts (including evenings/weekends).
Maintain survivor-centered, confidential, and non-judgmental advocacy.
Complete accurate, confidential documentation according to organizational policy.
Record call data, safety plans, referrals, and required statistics.
Ensure data entry follows state and federal confidentiality guidelines.
Consult with SafePlace staff regarding best practices and updates to community resources.
Communicate shift issues, crises, or concerns to supervisors as needed.
Participate in hotline team communication, debriefs, and check-ins.
Complete required Advocacy Core Training and agency-specific crisis line training.
Participate in ongoing training (20 hours annually if volunteering over one year).
Attend supervision meetings and engage in debriefing for emotional resilience.
Maintain healthy boundaries and adhere to ethical and confidentiality standards.
Remain reliable for scheduled shifts and provide timely communication if unavailable.
Uphold SafePlace values: quality, respect, self-care, diversity, integrity, and confidentiality.
Review policies, procedures, and resource updates as needed.