Volunteer requirements are as follows:

• • • Must be at least 18 years old and willing to help others in tension-filled crisis situations;
    • Must be able to provide your own transportation;
    • Must be able to attend initial trainings and subsequent training sessions on a regular basis;
    • Must be available for hospital call-outs approximately 5 to 7 nights per month;
    • Must be willing to complete a criminal background check, drug screening and fingerprinting;
    • Must be caring, compassionate and able to work with others;
    • Must be interested in helping victims in the community

Hodac’s Core Volunteer Training equips volunteers to work successfully with victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.  Hodac currently provides this 2-day/16 hour training on a quarterly basis to volunteers.

Topics in the training sessions include: client confidentiality; ethics; relationship policy with clients; crisis response protocol; roles of team members; victims’ rights; domestic violence information (statistics, defining family violence and its dynamics, myths and facts, stalking, marital rape, the effects of family violence on children, and safety planning); sexual assault information (statistics, defining sexual assault and its dynamics; date rape drugs; reducing one’s risk of being drugged; myths and facts; sexual assault exam procedures; overview of common effects of sexual assault; medical concerns and sexually transmitted diseases; Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; profile of a rapist; cultural sensitivity and communication with victims.