Rape/violence counselor position I've applied for

[Kathryn]

I recently applied for a position as a rape/family violence counselor at a local women's shelter. It's a volunteer position, but does require some in depth screening and training.

I would be on call to meet with women when they show up in the ER or at the police station reporting an act of violence against them. I would be a community liaison to intercede for them before they retreat emotionally and begin to lose perspective of their situation and their options.

I just sent in my application and am waiting for them to do a background check on me. If I pass this (which I should!) then I'll be interviewed - and I am sure that I will do fine in the interview - so I'm waiting eagerly for the call.

I've done some of this sort of work before, but never at this level - this close to the event. I'm a little nervous about it but the chance to make such a huge difference in someone's life at such a critical junction is very interesting to me.

I really hope I get the job.

Has anyone here done anything like that in the past, or had any sort of experience with that sort of work or situation? If you have any insight, I'd love to hear from you.

 

[Breathe]

I don't have any experience in this field, but I did jury service on a rape case. Wishing you the best of luck with the position, Kathryn.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

I recently applied for a position as a rape/family violence counselor at a local women's shelter. It's a volunteer position, but does require some in depth screening and training.

I would be on call to meet with women when they show up in the ER or at the police station reporting an act of violence against them. I would be a community liaison to intercede for them before they retreat emotionally and begin to lose perspective of their situation and their options.

I just sent in my application and am waiting for them to do a background check on me. If I pass this (which I should!) then I'll be interviewed - and I am sure that I will do fine in the interview - so I'm waiting eagerly for the call.

I've done some of this sort of work before, but never at this level - this close to the event. I'm a little nervous about it but the chance to make such a huge difference in someone's life at such a critical junction is very interesting to me.

I really hope I get the job.

Has anyone here done anything like that in the past, or had any sort of experience with that sort of work or situation? If you have any insight, I'd love to hear from you.

Never at this level either, just peer counseling. Best of luck to you! :foryou:

 

[Alceste]

I volunteered at a women's resource centre. We provided assistance, counseling, clothing, food and other kinds of support to women and families in poverty or homelessness. Some of our clients were often in crisis and dropped in just for someone to talk to. It was rewarding work. Good luck with the interview.

 

[England my lionheart]

I recently applied for a position as a rape/family violence counselor at a local women's shelter. It's a volunteer position, but does require some in depth screening and training.

I would be on call to meet with women when they show up in the ER or at the police station reporting an act of violence against them. I would be a community liaison to intercede for them before they retreat emotionally and begin to lose perspective of their situation and their options.

I just sent in my application and am waiting for them to do a background check on me. If I pass this (which I should!) then I'll be interviewed - and I am sure that I will do fine in the interview - so I'm waiting eagerly for the call.

I've done some of this sort of work before, but never at this level - this close to the event. I'm a little nervous about it but the chance to make such a huge difference in someone's life at such a critical junction is very interesting to me.

I really hope I get the job.

Has anyone here done anything like that in the past, or had any sort of experience with that sort of work or situation? If you have any insight, I'd love to hear from you.

I did some advocacy for people with learning difficulties and some had suffered abuse,i applaud you for doing it though,just remember not to take it home with you,by that i mean the subject matter will be upsetting and being Human its not like we can switch of the ugliness of the world at 5 PM,you'll do good though Miss Melanie for sure.

 

[Alceste]

I did some advocacy for people with learning difficulties and some had suffered abuse,i applaud you for doing it though,just remember not to take it home with you,by that i mean the subject matter will be upsetting and being Human its not like we can switch of the ugliness of the world at 5 PM,you'll do good though Miss Melanie for sure.

That's for sure - I heard some awful tales. The emotional pain in the place was a palpable thing. You can feel it pressing down on you. I'm a naturally depressed person though, and I read books like A Long Way Gone out of curiosity, so it didn't wobble my whole perception of mankind the way working with vulnerable people can for more positive types.

My main anxiety, though, was not knowing what to say. That turned out not to be a very big problem when I figured out how to just listen until they were talked out, then offer sympathy and / or affirmation.

 

[Kathryn]

I volunteered at a women's resource centre. We provided assistance, counseling, clothing, food and other kinds of support to women and families in poverty or homelessness. Some of our clients were often in crisis and dropped in just for someone to talk to. It was rewarding work. Good luck with the interview.

I've done similar volunteer work in the past, and yes, you are right -it's very rewarding!

I've never worked "this close to the action" before - but I've BEEN "this close to the action." I was violently raped as a teenager, and the entire fiasco was completely mishandled - by the police, by my parents, by my close friends, and most of all -by me. I had no idea what my options were and since I received absolutely zero support emotionally or practically - I made a series of very bad choices which could have really messed up my life - and did mess up twenty years of my life.

I am very passionate about getting women the help they need before they are unduly influenced by people who do not have their best interests at heart - or don't know themselves what their options are. In other words, before all the messed up, crazy elements of their real lives start working on them and convince them to downplay the trauma that just happened to them.

There's no bottling it in or boxing it up and moving forward without significant emotional damage.

I want to empower women to make better choices and decisions from that moment forward. Knowledge is power.

 

[Kathryn]

That's for sure - I heard some awful tales. The emotional pain in the place was a palpable thing. You can feel it pressing down on you. I'm a naturally depressed person though, and I read books like A Long Way Gone out of curiosity, so it didn't wobble my whole perception of mankind the way working with vulnerable people can for more positive types.

My main anxiety, though, was not knowing what to say. That turned out not to be a very big problem when I figured out how to just listen until they were talked out, then offer sympathy and / or affirmation.

I know what I WANT to say, but the training should be very interesting. Apparently there's a lot to learn, and it's a very structured environment. For instance, they will not even tell me the address of the place I'm going to interview at till they run the background check and call my references.

Interesting.

 

[cablescavenger]

I recently applied for a position as a rape/family violence counselor at a local women's shelter. It's a volunteer position, but does require some in depth screening and training.

I would be on call to meet with women when they show up in the ER or at the police station reporting an act of violence against them. I would be a community liaison to intercede for them before they retreat emotionally and begin to lose perspective of their situation and their options.

I just sent in my application and am waiting for them to do a background check on me. If I pass this (which I should!) then I'll be interviewed - and I am sure that I will do fine in the interview - so I'm waiting eagerly for the call.

I've done some of this sort of work before, but never at this level - this close to the event. I'm a little nervous about it but the chance to make such a huge difference in someone's life at such a critical junction is very interesting to me.

I really hope I get the job.

Has anyone here done anything like that in the past, or had any sort of experience with that sort of work or situation? If you have any insight, I'd love to hear from you.

My wife used to be a support worker for vulnerable people which covers a gamut of people including mental health.

At first she was worried and I was worried for her, but there was nothing to be worried about. She loved the work which was interesting, exciting and rewarding. She excelled, now manages over a region of the country, and much as she loves her job she often says she misses working with the client groups as it was more fun.

She did have to deal with some quite stressful situations and where you might think they are looking to recruit caring people, though this is important a good sense of humour a relaxed non-judgmental attitude and a proactive approach will be something they will cetainly be looking for in a candidate.

You won't be there to fix their problemsbut support their choices.

 

[Kathryn]

My wife used to be a support worker for vulnerable people which covers a gamut of people including mental health.

At first she was worried and I was worried for her, but there was nothing to be worried about. She loved the work which was interesting, exciting and rewarding. She excelled, now manages over a region of the country, and much as she loves her job she often says she misses working with the client groups as it was more fun.

She did have to deal with some quite stressful situations and where you might think they are looking to recruit caring people, though this is important a good sense of humour a relaxed non-judgmental attitude and a proactive approach will be something they will cetainly be looking for in a candidate.

You won't be there to fix their problemsbut support their choices.

That's interesting input - thank you very much.

This makes me think that I may be well suited for this. My husband tells me all the time, "You're a nice person, and you're a good person - but you are not a SENSITIVE person!" and he is RIGHT. I am very tough skinned. In fact, every professional personality test I've ever taken points this out. I am one of those people who looks around at everyone when we're huddling in the hall at school with our arms over our heads as a tornado rips through the campus - and starts laughing at how ridiculous and crazy the situation is.

I mean, I am not hard hearted - I'm just not easily ruffled.

 

[Kathryn]

I haven't yet told my husband that I'm applying for a position that MAY involve meeting people at the hospital or police station. It may not come to that - when I did my phone interview, this was one of the positions we discussed, and the coordinator did seem to think that I'd be suited for it, and there's a need, but during the interview, based on what she finds out, and what I find out about security and the job details, I may end up in another position.

I do know that my husband will NOT want me working in some capacity that's dangerous. So I'm going to go interview first, get the facts, and make up my mind about how I feel about the risks (if there are any) before I tell him about the specifics. I respect his input and I won't do something that he's definitely opposed to - but I also don't want him forming an opinion about the position before I know more about it.

 

[Kerr]

I recently applied for a position as a rape/family violence counselor at a local women's shelter. It's a volunteer position, but does require some in depth screening and training.

I would be on call to meet with women when they show up in the ER or at the police station reporting an act of violence against them. I would be a community liaison to intercede for them before they retreat emotionally and begin to lose perspective of their situation and their options.

I just sent in my application and am waiting for them to do a background check on me. If I pass this (which I should!) then I'll be interviewed - and I am sure that I will do fine in the interview - so I'm waiting eagerly for the call.

I've done some of this sort of work before, but never at this level - this close to the event. I'm a little nervous about it but the chance to make such a huge difference in someone's life at such a critical junction is very interesting to me.

I really hope I get the job.

Has anyone here done anything like that in the past, or had any sort of experience with that sort of work or situation? If you have any insight, I'd love to hear from you.

No. But I would like to wish you good luck. Good luck .

 

[Kathryn]

No. But I would like to wish you good luck. Good luck .

Thank you - got the packet sent off and am still waiting to hear back from them.

 

[Shuddhasattva]

Thank you for using the strength and compassion born of your own struggle to help others.

 

[England my lionheart]

That's for sure - I heard some awful tales. The emotional pain in the place was a palpable thing. You can feel it pressing down on you. I'm a naturally depressed person though, and I read books like A Long Way Gone out of curiosity, so it didn't wobble my whole perception of mankind the way working with vulnerable people can for more positive types.

My main anxiety, though, was not knowing what to say. That turned out not to be a very big problem when I figured out how to just listen until they were talked out, then offer sympathy and / or affirmation.

What can you say,its tough,for some of them just having someone listening is a step in the right direction.