Hotline Counselor Training

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You can make a huge difference in the healing process after expereinces of gender based violence!

BRAVE Bay Area, the first rape crisis center in the nation, invites you to support survivors of all types of gender based violence by volunteering as a hotline counselor. Our crisis line and advocacy services for Alameda County are possible because of our amazing volunteers.

Our next training and certification course begins January 21st, 2025. This 6-week training course is held from 6:00pm-9:00pm on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, as well as 10-4 on selected Saturdays. This upcoming training will be held on zoom on weekdays and in-person in San Leandro on weekends. There willbe offsite fieldtrips as well.

The training is FREE. There is a $50.00 fee for training materials. Participants who complete the training successfully will meet the hourly requirement to become State Certified Sexual Assault Counselors. You must be able to attend all sessions, with 6 hours of excused absences.

In exchange for the free 66-hour training and certification, we require a minimum commitment to volunteer for BAWAR for 16 hours of on-call time each month (4 hours/week), for a period of at least 9 months (your commitment begins the month of your successful completion of the training). This means that during those 16 on-call hours you will be available to take crisis line calls. You will have the flexibility to sign up for shifts that fit into your schedule.

The comprehensive training covers information on sexual assault and trauma, crisis counseling techniques (with lots of practice time), and related issues such as suicide, domestic violence, human trafficking, marginalized groups, medical and legal issues, and more.

Special notes:
* You must be over 21 to be a volunteer.

** The minimum number of participants is 20. If we do not meet this goal, the starting date of training may be delayed.

To fill out an application, please visit our website at www.bawar.org and click on our volunteer page. You may also go directly to the application by clicking on the following link: https://app.initlive.com:443/JE/b5ii85b19cz3lb

Thank you.