Health Imperatives: Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Advocacy Training

Health Imperatives’ Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Advocacy training will prepare volunteers, interns, and staff to assist survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, as well as their families and support systems. The training covers the psychosocial, emotional, medical, and legal aspects of sexual assault and other related issues. This course is intended to prepare trainees to provide services such as crisis intervention, counseling, accompaniment, and advocacy services to survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. It is a prerequisite for anyone interested in providing direct service to clients under the Violence Intervention and Prevention programs. This training adheres to the requirements of MGL Ch233 §20J and meets the MA state requirement for all domestic violence and sexual assault advocates and allows those working with survivors of violence to maintain “privileged communication,” confidential communication between clients and providers.

Training will be provided free of charge for all staff, volunteers and interns. For individuals who do not plan on volunteering or working for Health Imperatives after the training, the cost is $250 (payable by check or card.) Our training is offered about three times a year, typically in April, July and October.

At Health Imperatives, we value and recognize the importance of the healing process. Because of this, we ask that individuals interested in getting involved with our training or volunteer opportunities have had at least 1 year since their last involvement with domestic or sexual violence or services. 

IMPORTANT: To be accepted into this training, you must complete the following steps by Friday, October 12th: 

1. Submit a Volunteer Application (or Participant Info form if not volunteering)

2. Submit a CORI/SORI background check

3. Schedule and attend an interview 

Because of the nature of this work, we ask that volunteers are able to make a 1-year commitment to our program following the training. 

You must attend each day in full to receive a certificate of completion at the end. The training will run Monday 10/22 through Friday 10/26 9:00am - 5:00pm each day.


Topics Covered

Welcome to Health Imperatives
Intro to Domestic Violence
Anti-Oppression
Intro to Sexual Assault
Safety Planning with survivors
Responding to Disclosures of Sexual Assault
Working with LGBTQIA+ Survivors
Child and Adolescent Sexual Abuse
Intro Medical Advocacy & Medical Advocacy Skills
Mental Health and Trauma-Informed Care
Healthy Sexuality
Working with Immigrants and Refugees
Suicide Prevention
Campus Sexual Assault
Legal Advocacy
Privacy Rights and Confidentiality
Self-Care for Advocates

Volunteer Roles:

The following is a brief overview of the roles volunteers may fill in the VIP programs at Health Imperatives:

Medical Advocacy: Volunteers will have the opportunity to provide emotional support, information regarding legal and medical options, and referrals to survivors requesting support in of the several hospitals we respond to in Plymouth County.

T.E.A.M. Work Peer Mentor: Serve as a peer mentor to survivors of domestic violence or sexual assault, and support the survivor's goals around housing, education, employment, financial literacy, and health & wellness.

Childcare: Volunteers will provide trauma-informed childcare to children at Penelope’s Place shelter or at A New Day during appointments and support groups.

Court Advocacy: Volunteers may provide administrative assistance to staff at SAFEPLAN, a program located in Brockton District Court, and serve as an on-call advocate. (Additional SAFEPLAN training required.)

Shelter: Volunteers will provide administrative assistance to staff at our shelter, and may assist in providing non-clinical programming and activities for shelter residents.

Outreach and Prevention: Volunteers may be involved in co-facilitating prevention workshops, run tabling events, assisting with technical elements of outreach and prevention campaigns or events

As-needed: Volunteers support our yearly and monthly awareness-raising and fundraising efforts by providing essential support during events at college campuses and at local organizations. 

Please contact Elissa May, Volunteer Coordinator, with any questions!
Emay@healthimperatives.org or Volunteer@healthimperatives.org
508-583-3005 ext. 1005