Court Accompaniment

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Position: Bilingual Court Accompaniment Volunteer Supervisor: Domestic Violence Services Manager, Volunteer Coordinator Location: Sonoma County Hall of Justice, Sonoma County Superior Court Purpose: The YWCA provides court accompaniment to individuals obtaining domestic violence restraining orders for intimate partner violence whom are clients with the YWCA, Legal Aid of Sonoma County, as well as community members. Obtaining a restraining order is often the first step a client takes in asserting that they want to end the violence in their life. Volunteers accompany clients to court as moral support, not as legal advocates, as outlined in Family Code section 6303. Duties: Be familiar and comfortable with domestic violence family law court proceedings Support clients during court by explaining the sequence of events at court and planning for safety Document information about court proceedings and report outcomes to staff and/or Court Accompaniment Lead Volunteer Consult staff for any questions or concerns Inform Volunteer Coordinator or Court Accompaniment Lead Volunteer of availability Requirements: Desire to provide resources to survivors of domestic violence Interest in learning about social work and family law Sensitivity to working with clients in crisis while maintaining boundaries Ability to listen and respond to the needs of the clients Ability to maintain a nonjudgmental and empowerment based approach when working with clients Completion of a 40-hour domestic violence training provided by the YWCA Availability during court hours (Monday - Friday 8am - 5pm) Proficiency in Spanish preferred but not required Commitment: DV Court runs Tuesdays from 12:30-5:00 and every second and fourth Thursday of each month from 1:30-5:00. Benefits: The opportunity to work with clients in crisis to support them through an often intimidating process, with little more than the presence of someone (you) who is on their side. The real benefit of this work is in knowing what we do each day changes the lives of our clients through a philosophy of support and self-empowerment. To Apply: Visit https://www.ywcasc.org/get-involved/volunteer/ to fill out a volunteer application. For more information about our volunteer opportunities, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Alli Rios, at 707-303-8403 or arios@ywcasc.org YWCA is committed to providing meaningful volunteer experiences to community members by utilizing skills and resources to complement our programs and services.