The Rape Crisis Center welcomes empathetic individuals to volunteer as victim advocates. Advocates must be 21 years of age or older, possess your own reliable form of transportation, own a working cell phone, and have reliable child care (if applicable). Victim advocates are asked to donate at least 6 hours weekly, answering hotline calls and responding to UMC hospital to help victims of sexual assault. The Rape Crisis Center’s hotline operates 24-hours a day, 7 days a week (including holidays), which means advocates can be on-call anytime! All calls are directed from The Rape Crisis Center to the advocate’s personal phone.

Applicants must complete an application, interview with the Volunteer Coordinator, and an extensive background check. Once approved, applicants must attend a fifty-hour training course that focuses on sexual assault and related issues. We request that advocates commit to a minimum of six months of volunteer service.

Training sessions are held throughout the year. Training classes meet Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings from 6:00pm – 9:00pm and Saturdays from 9:00am – 1:00pm for an entire month. Due to the fact that each class focuses on a new topic, all classes are mandatory!