Forbes House

The Lake County Committee on Family Violence, Inc.

  Program Services for Battered Women and Their Children.

Updated 12/23/07

Volunteers are needed !!

 Forbes House, the Lake County shelter for battered women and their children, is looking for volunteers on a continuous basis.

   Volunteers provide support and information to women, help families explore their alternatives, facilitate house activities and help with clerical needs.  Additional training for advocacy is also provided.  Please contact us at, 440-953-9779 or 440-357-1018 for additional information and a schedule on training classes.

  Domestic violence is a crime that affects one-fourth of all families nationwide.

The problem of battered women is not new. Since the 1970’s, however, spouse abuse has moved to center stage as a topic of major concern.  Hundreds of books, research studies, news stories and television documentaries have confirmed that marital violence is a serious and widespread problem.

   Experts estimate that at least one million women each year are battered by their mates.  In the past, little was done to assist these victims. Today there is a vast network of agencies and organizations providing services to troubled families.  Compared to just two decades ago, great improvements have been made in our knowledge of the problem and in our ability to respond.

   Despite this progress, the problem of battered women remains.  The agencies designed to help these women seldom have the resources and personnel to provide all the help that they would like.  In particular, hundreds of shelter houses for battered women have been established in the United States, Canada and elsewhere to help women victims.  In nearly every case, there are chronic shortages of funds and staff to meet the needs of all their clients.

   In order to redress this problem, shelter houses rely heavily on volunteers to assist in carrying out daily operations.  Volunteers are a vital component in any successful shelter house.

  Without volunteers, the quality of service delivery to victims of family violence would seriously be undermined.  You are needed as a volunteer.  You can make a difference.

ORGANIZATION OF DUTY TIME AT FORBES HOUSE

 First Half Hour

 1.  Sign in Staff Log.

2.  Meet with volunteer leaving and/or staff.

3.  Read Communication Book.

4.  Check Resident Roster.

5.  Make contact with residents in house - especially new ones.  Let them know who you are and how long  you will be on duty.

6.  Walk through the house for safety check.  Look for problems (fire, exits blocked, hazards, etc.)

 Remaining Hours

 1.  Assist with house process:

meals, chores, intake/departures, house meetings, child care.

2.  Be available to residents and respond to needs/requests.

3.  Answer door and phones.

4.  Do specific duties as requested  by staff and/or On-Call Person.

5.  Keep On-Call Person informed of changes/problems.

 Last Half Hour

 1.  Make sure Communication Book is current - add your notes.

2.  Give report to volunteer coming on duty.

3.  Notify on-Call Person if no staff is coming on after you.  Phones may need to be call forwarded.

4.  Sign out Staff Log.  If no staff is coming in, make sure that residents know how to answer the phone and door, and get in touch with the On-Call Person.  Also, tell them when the next staff person will come in.  Enforce that they are not all to leave the shelter at the same time.