2023 Contact Community Services Volunteer Application |
Please read carefully before completing application
VOLUNTEER OVERVIEW
Volunteers are the heart of our agency and have been from its inception. Contact Community Services began in 1971 as a 24-hour telephone counseling and crisis hotline staffed entirely by volunteers. Today our valued volunteers continue to play and an integral role in our TeleCare and Contact Hotline programs. *All volunteer training and work is done at our East Syracuse office.*
TeleCare is a free telephone reassurance program which provides a regular connection to isolated and vulnerable members of our community. Volunteers make outbound calls to enrolled clients and provide medication reminders, welfare checks, and social visits.
The Contact Hotline is a safe place to talk. It provides free, confidential, 24-hour service for anyone who is depressed, in crisis, going through a hard time, thinking about suicide, or just needs to hear a caring voice. Most calls are not suicide-related.
VOLUNTEER FUNCTIONS AND REQUIREMENTS
Essential volunteer functions
-Volunteers complete their training and shift duties out of our Syracuse-area office
-Support clients by exhibiting strong active listening skills
-Maintain client and colleague confidentiality
-Attended required basic and advanced trainings
-Participate in other continuing education opportunities as offered
Volunteer requirements
-Must be reliable and have a sincere desire to help others
-Must show respect and compassion for people affected by mental health conditions and life challenges
-Comfort using a computer and telephone
-Ability to complete basic training within three months
-Commit to at least three 4-hour shifts per month for the first six months, and then two 4-hours of service per month thereafter
-Attend twice per year volunteer advanced trainings
-Commit to 12 months of service
VOLUNTEER TRAINING
TeleCare training
Training to make TeleCare calls is 4-hours and can be done in a single day. It includes shadowing, one-on-one instruction to gain familiarity with active listening and the computer and phone, and making calls under the guidance of a trainer. Once ready to take calls, volunteers continue to be supported by staff during their shifts.
Hotline training
Our 40 hour Hotline training curriculum instills the skills and confidence needed to successfully support clients who present with a wide range of life challenges and issues. On average, it takes a trainee two months to complete their Hotline basic training. During this time they are still able to sign up for TeleCare shifts.
Components of Hotline basic training include:
-Orientation
-Observation
-Self-guided training modules
-Individualized or small group instruction and role plays
-Apprenticing
Volunteers are the heart of our agency and have been from its inception. Contact Community Services began in 1971 as a 24-hour telephone counseling and crisis hotline staffed entirely by volunteers. Today our valued volunteers continue to play and an integral role in our TeleCare and Contact Hotline programs. *All volunteer training and work is done at our East Syracuse office.*
TeleCare is a free telephone reassurance program which provides a regular connection to isolated and vulnerable members of our community. Volunteers make outbound calls to enrolled clients and provide medication reminders, welfare checks, and social visits.
The Contact Hotline is a safe place to talk. It provides free, confidential, 24-hour service for anyone who is depressed, in crisis, going through a hard time, thinking about suicide, or just needs to hear a caring voice. Most calls are not suicide-related.
VOLUNTEER FUNCTIONS AND REQUIREMENTS
Essential volunteer functions
-Volunteers complete their training and shift duties out of our Syracuse-area office
-Support clients by exhibiting strong active listening skills
-Maintain client and colleague confidentiality
-Attended required basic and advanced trainings
-Participate in other continuing education opportunities as offered
Volunteer requirements
-Must be reliable and have a sincere desire to help others
-Must show respect and compassion for people affected by mental health conditions and life challenges
-Comfort using a computer and telephone
-Ability to complete basic training within three months
-Commit to at least three 4-hour shifts per month for the first six months, and then two 4-hours of service per month thereafter
-Attend twice per year volunteer advanced trainings
-Commit to 12 months of service
VOLUNTEER TRAINING
TeleCare training
Training to make TeleCare calls is 4-hours and can be done in a single day. It includes shadowing, one-on-one instruction to gain familiarity with active listening and the computer and phone, and making calls under the guidance of a trainer. Once ready to take calls, volunteers continue to be supported by staff during their shifts.
Hotline training
Our 40 hour Hotline training curriculum instills the skills and confidence needed to successfully support clients who present with a wide range of life challenges and issues. On average, it takes a trainee two months to complete their Hotline basic training. During this time they are still able to sign up for TeleCare shifts.
Components of Hotline basic training include:
-Orientation
-Observation
-Self-guided training modules
-Individualized or small group instruction and role plays
-Apprenticing