Sexual Assault and Family Emergencies (SAFE) 

Volunteers provide many valuable services to survivors of sexual violence.
These services are divided into two categories:
          direct and non-direct services.
 

•              talking to people that contact S.A.F.E. through our 24-hour hotline,

•              going to hospital emergency rooms to provide emotional support and information to survivors of sexual assault,

•              accompanying survivors to police stations or court,

•              and any other service that may put you in contact with a survivor.

 All staff and volunteers that provide direct services to people on behalf of S.A.F.E. are legally mandated to receive a 40-hour training that has been approved by the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault. Our training fulfills this requirement.
 

Examples of non-direct services are

•              helping with fundraisers,

•              assembling handouts

•             donating baked items to be used at our fundraisers.

 Those providing non-direct services are not required to take our 40-hour training.  To find out more about providing non-direct services for S.A.F.E. contact Teresa at (618)283-1414.

S.A.F.E. usually offers the 40-hour Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault training once a year. This training is offered to anyone who wants to volunteer at SAFE.

Trainees should be aware that SAFE covers a region that includes Bond, Clay, Clinton, Effingham, Fayette, Marion, and Washington counties.  Volunteers that complete the training will receive a certificate and should be willing to provide direct services to survivors of sexual violence at least one shift per month for at least one year.  Shifts are available for either weekday or weekend hours.

People taking the training should expect to attend the training in all three of S.A.F.E.'s offices.  Those offices are in Centralia, Effingham, and Vandalia.  Carpooling is encouraged.  People that cannot attend a minimum of 85% of the sessions may be able to make up those sessions at a future date but will not receive certification until they have completed all requirements.

 Successfully completing the 40- hour training is the first step to volunteering with SAFE.
 After completion of the training each trainee is assessed to evaluate if they are ready to volunteer with SAFE.  Those taking the training need to keep in mind that people using our services deserve the best that we are able to give to them.

 Sometimes it is determined that a person may have successfully completed our training but is not ready to volunteer.  A volunteer that has been assessed to be unable to volunteer may be able to help in other ways.  That assessment is not necessarily a permanent condition (even though it may be).  Since a large percentage of women have been sexually abused they may have their own emotional issues that have not been resolved completely.  This may cause a volunteer to be re-traumatized by talking to others with similar situations.  It also may cause a survivor to strongly believe they know what is best for a victim. 

Our services are victim oriented and we are not here to make decisions for victims.  We have to be confident that someone reaching to us for help is getting victim-oriented help.