Formerly Known As United Against Sexual Assault

Crisis Line Counselor Job Description

TITLE: Crisis Line Counselor (CLC), Sexual Assault Victim Advocate

PURPOSE: To provide telephone and in-person crisis counseling, support, referrals, advocacy, and accompaniment services to survivors of sexual assault, their families and significant others.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

  • To provide telephone crisis intervention, support, information and referrals to victims of sexual assault and abuse, their families and significant others.
  • To provide accompaniment and advocacy services to VERITY clients. This can include medical examinations, law enforcement interviews and court appearances.
  • To provide follow-up contact with VERITY clients according to their individual needs.
  • To document call information and return to VERITY within 72 hours. Call documentation can be provided via mail, email, or fax. Stamped envelopes are available for volunteers without access to a fax machine or email.

TIME COMMITMENT:

  • Prior to staffing our 24/7-crisis line, a 50-hour training course is required to receive state certification. The 50 hours consists of 45 hours of class time, 3 hours of video and 2 hours of take-home testing. A substantial amount of reading is also required and not accounted for in the 50 hours. The training is offered by VERITYmultiple times a year.
  • Upon completion of the training, a 6-month/180-hour commitment is required. During the 6 month commitment, Crisis Line Counselors are requiredto complete 30 on-call hours per month on the crisis line, which should include at least 12 weekend or overnight hours per month. The monthly hour commitment may vary and will be agreed upon by the Crisis Intervention Manager and the CLC trainee prior to the beginning of training. We are particularly flexible with the hourly commitment if you are able to take calls in Spanish during off-call times.
  • Monthly mentorship meetings are held in our office once a month and are 1 to 2.5 hours in duration, depending on the presentation. Crisis Line Counselors are required to attend at least 8 hours of the 12 meetings offered to maintain their state certification. As an alternative to the monthly mentorshipmeetings, with prior approval, a CLC can provide proof of continued education in the area of sexual assault or advocacy. Monthly mentorship meetings aretypically on aTuesday or Wednesday at 6PM.

WORK-SITE:

All training sessions and in-service meetings are held at the SonomaCountyFamily JusticeCenter, unless otherwise stated. Individual shift coverage for the crisis line occurs at your home or location of your choice that is quiet and fosters confidential transfer of information. Crisis calls are routed through an answering service and patched through to the CLC on call. At least twenty minutes prior to beginning each shift, the CLC is required to provide the agency with a confirmation of their attendance for the shift by checking in with the Intervention Coordinator.

QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Applicants must have an interest in assisting sexual assault survivors and significant others.
  • Applicants must be at least 18 years of age.
  • Sexual assault survivors must be emotionally ready to assist other survivors and be no less than one year past their own assault/abuse.
  • Past or present perpetrators of sexual or physical abuse and/or any violent crime are NOT eligible to participate in crisis line training.
  • Counselors with a history of chemical dependency must be clean and sober for at least one year prior to training.
  • Knowledge of VERITY policies, procedures and responsibilities.
  • Successful completion of 50 hour CLC training. This training may involve additional hours according to particular areas of individual interest, at the discretion of the Crisis Intervention Manager. Trainees agree to make up all missed sessions.
  • Ability to work with the diverse communities, without regard to gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religious background, disability, age or other cultural differences.

BENEFITS:

  • 50 hoursof initial training and continuation trainings which can transfer to other counseling-related or social service jobs.
  • Entire training and crisis line hours can be used for internship credit.
  • Letters of recommendation for internship programs, graduate school, and employment purposes after completion of commitment. Letters of recommendation will be provided upon request to Crisis Line Counselors in good standing.
  • Personal satisfaction for helping people in their time of need.

SELECTION OF VOLUNTEERS:

  • Application is completed by the applicant and reviewed by the Crisis Intervention Manager.
  • Two in-person interviews, one with the Crisis Intervention Manager and the other with the Executive Director.
  • Two references will be requested and they may either be academic, professional or personal, although personal is preferred.
  • Upon completion of training all volunteers must be fingerprinted.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Contact Kayla Weiss, Crisis Intervention Manager at (707) 545-7270, Ext. 16, or via email at . Visit our website at for more information about our agency and other volunteer opportunities.

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Revised: 1/31/2019