HAWC seeks volunteers for several positions

SALEM – The North Shore’s largest shelter and counseling service for victims of domestic violence is looking for volunteers to answer the 24-hour hotline, accompany women to court or help care for their children in the temporary refuge.Salem-based Help for Abused Women and their Children, which serves victims from 23 North Shore communities, is offering to train volunteers for a variety of duties within the organization.HAWC spokeswoman Alicia Black and the volunteers annually help more than 5,000 women and children in need. “As a HAWC volunteer, you can answer our 24-hour hotline, become a court advocate, co-facilitate a support group or work with children in our shelter,” she said. “It’s a unique opportunity to help people in a very real way.”A 40-hour training program ensures that volunteers are attuned to the causes of domestic violence and prepared to work with people in abusive situations, Black said.”You will learn how to assist adults in breaking the cycle of violence, how domestic violence impacts children, how to access resources within systems on many levels, and how to help individuals identify types of domestic abuse,” she said. “Once trained, you can answer the hotline from your own home.”Anyone interested can attend an hour-long orientation session to learn more about the HAWC volunteer program. The next sessions are Jan. 14 and 21 at 6 p.m.The training begins Feb. 4 and is comprised of 10 sessions, held on Mondays and Thursdays from 6-9 p.m. and on two Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.All volunteers are interviewed by HAWC staff and a Criminal Offender Record Investigation is conducted before anyone is allowed to participate in the training. For more information, call Hannah McClelland at 978-744-2299, ext. 11.”Would you like to see the world change for the better? Would you like to be part of that change? Being a HAWC volunteer can give you the opportunity to help create peace in the home for every child and adult on the North Shore of Massachusetts,” Black said.For more about HAWC, visit www.helpabusedwomen.org.