One thing you might now know about New Beginnings is that we started as one small emergency shelter back in the mid 70's. In many ways it is the center of the domestic violence work that we do and it's one of the most important services we provide. Our volunteers play a big role in that and we wanted to give you an inside scoop as to what volunteering at the shelter looks like. We asked one of our veteran shelter volunteers, Shelley M., to give us the details. Here's what she had to say!
Volunteering at the shelter – a typical shift
Shelley M!
Once a week I volunteer at the New Beginnings confidential emergency shelter.
My shift is 6pm – 10pm, which means that day staff is gone and the crisis line rings over to the shelter.* I usually work alongside Astrid (shelter advocate) or one of the relief workers.**
The only consistent thing that happens during my shift is that I get hungry around 7:30. Aside from that, activities can include some or all of the following:
- Answer the crisis line and provide support and referrals to callers***Thanks for all of your hard work Shelley!
- Read resident logs to get caught up on who is there and how they are doing
- Read staff log to see what needs to be done that night
- Handle the phones and office during support groups
- Take residents to the pantry, clothing room, or get them things from the linen room
- Watch kids while mom is doing a goals meeting or intake with the advocate
- Help people create documents, run credit reports, and write resumes on the resident computer
- Call for cabs for new residents
- Gather items (linens, toiletries, etc.) for incoming residents
- Make copies, shred old documents, clean up files
Some weeks the shelter is bustling and loud, and other weeks it’s quiet. I like not knowing quite what to expect when I walk through the doors, but feeling secure that it’s all going to work out fine. All of the advocates I’ve worked with are great.
Every week that I’m at the shelter I am humbled by the strength of the women who seek the services of New Beginnings. Working directly with the residents gives me a thorough look at what they’re up against to build their new lives, and it makes me want to do everything I can to help.
Put that shiny new knowledge to good use, new volunteers! Come lend a hand at shelter!
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Did you know:
*The New Beginnings 24-Hour Help Line is answered by our Community Advocacy Program from 9am-5pm Mondays through Fridays. From 5pm-9am and on Weekends and holidays, our Shelter Advocates answer the Help Line.
**"Relief Workers are "on-call" or "substitute" advocates that work any given shift if an advocate is sick, on vacation or otherwise unavailable.
***Our 24-Hour Help Line used to be called the "Crisis Line"! New name, same great service.
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