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Become a Telephone Crisis & Information Volunteer
Thank you for considering the Crisis & Information Line as a place to give your time, energy and skills. The Crisis Line is made up of people just like you! People who are looking for a way to give back to their community while also developing valuable skills and experience. Our volunteers have diverse backgrounds and reasons for volunteering and range in age from 19 and beyond! We appreciate being able to provide over 100 volunteers each year with the challenging and rewarding work of providing emotional support and referral information to a wide range of people and issues. Our excellent training and support program will ensure that your time at the Crisis Line is satisfying.
Volunteering for the Crisis & Information Line can give you…
• Training in communication skills valuable for school, work & personal use.
• Practical experience and knowledge on a wide range of social issues.
• Opportunities to develop advanced skills.
• A chance to be part of a volunteer team proud to be making a difference!
We thank you for your interest in our program and look forward to hearing from you. For more information on our next training intake call 604-540-9161 or email
clvol@sharesociety.ca
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the benefits to volunteering with the Crisis & Information Line? |
Volunteering with the Crisis & Information Line gives you the opportunity to meet caring, like-minded people while developing interpersonal communication skills that can be helpful in one's personal life and transferable to any work or school setting. In addition, there are advanced training workshops with guest speakers and social events throughout the year. Some feedback shared by our volunteers on their volunteer experience at the Crisis Line include:
- “I feel I am making a difference in people’s lives and my own. It is the most satisfying volunteering I have done.”
- “The training was awesome and I feel confident to get on the phones.”
- “This volunteer experience has sharpened my listening and empathy skills and given me immense pride and confidence in helping others.”
- “I have a clearer insight into others and my patience has improved.”
- “I use the skills I've learned in my day to day interactions at home, and at work I am viewed as a better resource by my coworkers.”
- “My experiences at the Crisis Line has helped me to advance my career.”
- “Volunteering at the Crisis Line has opened my eyes to the community and I feel proud to be involved.”
In addition to providing you with a training certificate following successful completion of our training program we are happy to provide work and school references following a minimum of 100 hours and 6 months of volunteering.
Thank you for your interest in volunteering with us. We look forward to hearing from you. |
What kind of qualifications are necessary before applying? |
We believe the position of Telephone Crisis & Information Volunteer is a rewarding and challenging work opportunity. Similar to applying for a job, there is an application and screening process to ensure a suitable fit. The Crisis Line selects applicants who demonstrate respect and healthy caring for others. We do not select for previous crisis intervention, counseling or referral information skills. Our comprehensive training program provides volunteers with all the necessary skills and we believe it is our responsibility to teach these skills to our volunteers.
Our general requirements include:
1. Applicants must be at least 19 years of age and demonstrate maturity, responsibility and stability.
2. Applicants must speak English fluently, be able to read and write at a high school level and feel comfortable working on a computer. We cannot guarantee wheelchair accessibility.
3. Applicants must complete an application form, provide two personal references and attend an interview.
4. Applicants must undergo a criminal record check. Note: having a record may not automatically disqualify an applicant. Acceptance of records is decided by the Director and is dependant upon the nature of the charge and when it took place. Please be aware that a record clearance takes extra time and will delay your acceptance. You can speak to the Program Director or the Crisis Line Coordinator for more details.
5. Applicants who are accepted into the Crisis Line training program are required to pay SHARE Society a training fee of $50 (includes taxes. Note: this training fee does not qualify for a tax-deductible receipt). Each applicant will be provided with a comprehensive training and workbook that they can keep after training, and applicants who successfully complete the training will receive a certificate. The fee is due the first day of training unless other arrangements for payment have been made.
6. Crisis Helplines operate independently in each community or region so if you reside in an area outside the Tri-City and neighbouring areas you should first enquire whether one exists closer to you before applying with us.
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What kind of commitment does the Crisis Line require? |
The Crisis & Information Line is entirely dependent on a team of volunteers. Providing a 7 day, 24 hour telephone service is demanding and, in our efforts to provide a high quality of service to the community, we require our volunteers to be responsible and dependable; we will take your volunteer commitment with the Crisis Line as seriously as paid work and expect you to do the same. Consistent involvement on the phones is a necessary requirement and the commitment asked of you demands that the Crisis Line becomes a regular part of your weekly schedule (there is flexibility for time off for vacation etc).
Shifts are self-scheduled. This means you can choose the day you want to work as well as the start and end time and length of your shift (shifts can be as little as 1 hour long and as long as 8 hours). Shift scheduling is the responsibility of the volunteers and with this flexibility comes the responsibility that volunteers changing a shift must find their own replacement.
Upon completion of training, you will be expected to complete a minimum of 16 hours on the phones each month for a total of 150 hours. A minimum of 56 hours from the 150-hour commitment must occur sometime between the hours of 10pm and 8am. Most volunteers complete this 150-hour commitment in 8 to 10 months. Many of our volunteers stay longer and give more hours than this and we welcome the ongoing support!
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What's involved in the training? |
In our comprehensive 60 hour 8-week training program you will learn effective listening skills foundational to most models of crisis intervention and counselling. It requires some self-exploration. In addition to the time spent in the classroom and phone room, expect to spend an additional 2 to 3 hours a week at home on reading and written assignments.
45 HOURS OF CLASS ROOM TRAINING SESSIONS: Each session is a separate module that must be completed before moving on to the next. If you miss a module, a make up session must be completed (make up sessions are available on a limited basis only, please enquire). An applicant who does not attend all of the mandatory sessions may be asked to discontinue the remainder of the training.
1. Person Focused Model of Helping
2. Empathy & Active Listening Skills
3. Focusing, Summarizing, Limit Setting Skills
4. Community Information & Referral
5. Suicide Intervention
6. Emergency Intervention Policy/Procedures
7. Mental Illness Interventions
8. Addiction Interventions
9. Abuse Intervention
10 Other Types of Calls
16 HOURS OF PHONE ROOM PRACTICUM TRAINING SESSIONS: In addition to the above classroom training, you will also be completing a minimum 16 hours of phone room training and supervision. You will be able to schedule these phone room sessions on your own time after the classroom training begins.
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Will I automatically begin volunteering following training? |
| We recognize that a volunteer experience with the Crisis Line may not be appropriate for everyone and therefore acceptance into the training does not automatically qualify an applicant to become a volunteer. The acceptance process is on-going throughout the training and the following three month probation period and during this time an applicant may be informed they will not be accepted as a volunteer. An applicant may decide to withdraw from the training and acceptance process at anytime, and an applicant may be permitted to re-apply for training at a future date. Our selection and training process has a good success rate and most people who train with us go on to volunteer. |
I believe I qualify and am prepared to make the commitment. How do I apply? |
| We provide our 8-week 60 hour training program three times a year usually starting around February, June and October, and the application and interview process takes place during the 4 week period prior to each training start date.
The first step to pursuing a volunteer experience with the Crisis Line is to register for our next one hour Information Night where we hand out applications and invite people to sign up for an interview. If this date has already passed but training has not yet begun, it still may be possible to apply so don’t hesitate to enquire by emailing clvol@sharesociety.ca or calling us at 604-540-9161. |
After I apply, what happens next? |
| After attending an Information Night, you will be asked to attend an interview, submit an application, and complete a criminal record search. Following the interview, your personal references will be contacted. The Crisis Line will first interview and screen all applicants for training and then select the number of candidates that best meets our present needs. Following your interview you will be informed by phone whether your application has been accepted.
Thank you for your interest in volunteering with us. We look forward to hearing from you. |
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