Volunteer with WOAR

*Must be 18 or older to apply*

As a WOAR Crisis Hotline Volunteer, you will provide crucial supportive advocacy to individuals who have experienced sexual violence. In addition to supporting our 24-hour hotline, our volunteers will now virtually (until WOAR is safely able return to providing this service in-person) advocate for victims/survivors who are seeking medical attention at Philadelphia Sexual Assault Response Center (PSARC) at 300 E. Hunting Park Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19124.

Your help is vital to WOAR’s operations. Many survivors end up seeking our therapy services after speaking with one of our volunteers, so please consider joining our support team. Volunteers are required to participate in a 40-hour training course to become a Sexual Assault Volunteer Counselor. The training is done in a group setting consisting of presentations, videos, readings, and role-playing. You will learn about the sexual violence continuum, court proceedings, the forensic rape exam, crisis counseling skills, and agency services. After the training course is completed, you will listen in on hotline calls before doing it on your own. All sessions must be attended. Our limit for SAC trainees is 25 per cycle and are on a first-come, first-serve basis.

WOAR asks that survivors who have received services at WOAR wait 2 years before applying to be a hotline volunteer.

Sexual Assault Counselor 2020/2021 Training

We offer SAC training three times a year.

Trainings

Winter SAC- January

Spring SAC- June

Summer SAC- August

Application Deadline

Winter SAC- November 1st (Closed at This Time)

Spring SAC-April 1st

Summer SAC- June 1st

Summer SAC- August 1st (This year, due to COVID-19, we have added another SAC training)

Orientation/Interview

TBD

*If you have submitted an application but have not received an e-mail response, please check your junk/spam folder.

The Volunteer Program at WOAR has the following components:

  1. Complete 40-hour training.
  2. Online sign-up for volunteer shifts on a first come, first serve basis.
  3. Commitment to a minimum of 15 hotline hours per month, including a minimum of 10 overnight hours every two months.
  4. Hotline calls are taken from the volunteer’s home, allowing volunteers to attend to other tasks when not on a call. Hotline shifts are evenings, overnights and weekends.
  5. Virtually provide crisis advocacy for clients at PSARC during hotline shifts.
  6. Minimum 1 year commitment to volunteer with WOAR.
  7. Must 18 years or older to apply/be a volunteer on the hotline.

If you would like to become a WOAR Volunteer, please complete the online application and submit it with a resume. If you have questions about other volunteer possibilities and changes to training/volunteering during COVID-19, please contact Genet Araya io at Genet@woar.org with the subject “Crisis Volunteer.”