Volunteers sought to help victims of domestic violence
The Rachel Coalition, a division of Jewish Family Service of MetroWest, is seeking volunteers for its court advocate program. The 40-hour hands-on training program teaches volunteers how to provide victims of domestic violence with emotional and administrative support as they await their restraining order hearings in Essex Family Court in Newark.
Training sessions begin on Tuesdays, beginning March 11, from 6 to 9 p.m. Volunteers need not have formal legal experience. They will have an opportunity to observe family court proceedings. Volunteers who already have taken a 40-hour domestic violence training class in the last five years can qualify for an abbreviated training.
For more information and to schedule an interview, email Beth DiAngelo at bdiangelo@jfsmetrowest.org.
Every year, the Essex Family Court domestic violence unit in Newark presides over more than 6,000 cases of domestic violence.
Since 2006, the Rachel Coalition has placed trained court advocate volunteers in the Essex County Family Court waiting room to explain the restraining order process to victims; assist with the initial application; provide information about community services such as legal, counseling, shelters; and offer unconditional emotional support.
The Rachel Coalition provides services to help victims of domestic violence and intimate partner violence and works with people living in high-conflict relationships.
JFS is a comprehensive social service agency that provides mental health counseling and support services on a non-discriminatory basis. With a presence in the community since 1861, JFS delivers an expanding number of programs to increasing numbers of people.
For information, call (973) 765-9050 or go to www.jfsmetrowest.org.
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