Volunteer Phone Advocate at SafePlace

Olympia, Washington, United States -

Full Time

Start Date

Immediate

Expiry Date

03 Mar, 26

Salary

0.0

Posted On

03 Dec, 25

Experience

0 year(s) or above

Remote Job

Yes

Telecommute

Yes

Sponsor Visa

Skills

Crisis Intervention, Emotional Support, Safety Planning, Confidentiality, Communication, Collaboration, Documentation, Training, Advocacy, Social Justice, Cultural Responsiveness, Reliability, Boundary Setting, Problem Solving, Resource Referral, Team Communication

Industry

Non-profit Organizations

Description

SAFE PLACE Job Title: Volunteer Phone Advocate Number of openings: 2 Shifts Available: Monday through Thursday, occasionally Friday through Sunday, and holidays. About SafePlace Olympia 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. Position Summary 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. Key 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. Crisis Line Support & Direct Advocacy – 45% 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.. Documentation & Reporting – 15% 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. Collaboration & Communication with Staff – 15% 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. Training, Supervision & Professional Development – 15% 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. Administrative, Reliability, and Organizational Responsibilities – 10% 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. Qualifications Required: 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. Preferred: 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). Interpersonal & Communication Skills To perform this job successfully, an individual must possess the following interpersonal skills: Bring and maintain a strong commitment to fulfill agreed on volunteer shifts with a high level of enthusiasm and engagement with the Ability to respond to crisis, set limits, and maintain healthy Ability to manage challenges and conflicts with confidentiality, fairness, and respect with clients from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Ability to maintain a positive attitude and resilient demeanor when working with traumatized callers. Open to learning and applying best-practices in advocacy-based counseling and trauma-informed care when working with callers. Strong reliability to answer calls during agreed on shifts and provide timely communication to supervisor if unable to do so for any reason. Engage with supervisor, teammates, staff, volunteers, and clients in a positive Embraces the following SafePlace values in all interactions with staff, volunteers, and clients: Quality – provide quality services to clients and promote a positive atmosphere for Respect – recognize that the foundation of relationships with others is respect for individual rights and Self-Care – recognize the need for self-care as a priority for maintaining resilience. Diversity - value, acknowledge, and integrate diversity into serving the wide array of cultures in our community Integrity - endeavor to build relationships with clients based on integrity and honesty. Confidentiality - hold client and agency information in the strictest of confidence creating a culture of trust. Reasoning, Math, and Technical Skills To perform this job successfully, an individual must possess the following reasoning abilities: Ability to identify and solve problems and deal with a variety of variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule Ability to identify gaps in standardized procedures and formulate proposed Ability to compile statistics and report them in an understandable Basic computer skills using Office 365 Training Requirements By state mandate, this volunteer position is required to complete Advocacy Core Training and specific crisis line training and shadowing with agency staff prior to taking direct calls from clients. If volunteer placement continues past one year, then the volunteer must receive 20 hours of on-going direct service training a year, which must include at least 15 hours advocacy, 12 hours of sexual assault training.

Responsibilities

The Volunteer Phone Advocate provides confidential, survivor-centered support and advocacy to individuals who have experienced domestic and sexual violence via the SafePlace hotline. Responsibilities include crisis intervention, safety planning, emotional support, and information regarding community resources.