Overview of Volunteer Positions

Below is an overview of Walnut Avenue’s current volunteer positions available in our various programs: Services for Survivors of Domestic Violence, Services for Children & Youth, Family Support Services, Early Education Center, and Community Engagement.

Some positions require a person to complete the domestic violence advocacy certification training, which we offer twice a year. If a position has this requirement, it will be noted under “onboarding requirements” so that you can plan ahead.

  • Are you looking to volunteer with friends or family as a group? If everyone is over 18 years old, then you can all join our DV training and participate in advocacy! If not, or if not everyone is interested in advocacy, then your best options are to check out she.is.beautiful or the Friends of Walnut Avenue program.

  • Have an idea for an internship that isn’t currently listed? Reach out to the staff contacts on our volunteer page to start the discussion.

  • Are you aged between 14-17? You’re eligible to participate in our Early Education Center as a classroom aide, join our Youth Advisory Board, or provide childcare through Kids Club, any of which can usually count towards high school graduation requirements. More info below.

Our Board of Directors and the Friends of Walnut Avenue are volunteer, but operate differently than the volunteer programs below. Learn more by visiting the Board’s page or the page for the Friends!

General Eligibility Requirements for All Volunteer Programs

  • At least two years must have passed between the start of volunteering and the last date of any services you’ve received from Walnut Avenue on your own behalf, e.g. attending support groups or meeting with an advocate (conflict of interest)

  • Be living in California at least 50% of the time (citizenship/immigration status are not considered relevant)

  • Pass a criminal background check (more info on background checks)

  • Be aged 18+

    • Minors aged 14+ are eligible to participate in three programs: our Early Education Center classrooms, Kids Club, and the Youth Advisory Board

General Services

Family Support Services Food Program Assistant

Department: Advocacy & Prevention
Program: Family Support Services (FSS)

Minimum time commitment: six months
Type: in person
Keywords: food assistance; community resources

Every Thursday, our survivors and families are able to come to our office on 303 Walnut Avenue and pick up a food bag as well as whatever items they need from donations we receive each week. Food program assistants in either the morning or afternoon shift greet our participants as they arrive, hand out food bags, facilitate the sharing of donation items, and may help carry things for our participants. They also help with the daily operations and maintenance of the office.

Note: while food program assistants do not provide advocacy services, they still operate within a space where they may hear or see many of the challenges associated with domestic violence crisis intervention.

Onboarding requirements:

  • Standard background check

  • 1.5-hour virtual program training

Youth Services

Our youth services are unique in that volunteers who complete either the domestic violence or youth advocacy trainings and become youth advocates operate together as a team. This allows volunteers to move between programs as space and personal preferences allow and get a wider variety of experience!

Kids Club Volunteer

Department: Advocacy & Prevention
Program: Services for Children & Youth (SCY)

Minimum time commitment: six months
Type: in person
Keywords: childcare

Kids Club volunteers provide childcare for children aged 11 and younger while their parents are attending support groups on site. Playing in our fenced-in backyard, doing art projects, and having snacks make up a typical 2-hour Kids Club shift!

Onboarding requirements:

  • Youth background check

  • 2-3 hour in-person program training

 

Teen Services Facilitator

Department: Advocacy & Prevention
Program: Services for Children & Youth (SCY)

Minimum time commitment: 12 months
Type: hybrid (remote and in-person)
Keywords: youth; teens; support groups; direct service

Teen services volunteers participate in an array of options: Teen Group, classroom workshops, social media management, and program development. Typically, a volunteer becomes a Teen Group facilitator and then may take on any of the other options.

Teen Group provides a gender-inclusive, prosocial opportunity for teens aged 12-18 to meet up once a week. Activities range from field trips to places like the Boardwalk or Monterey Bay Aquarium, life skills workshops that include safe dating and applying for college, and sessions of analyzing pop culture media like music and reality TV to discuss healthy (and unhealthy) interpersonal relationships.

Onboarding requirements:

 

Youth Advisory Board

Department: Advocacy & Prevention
Program: Services for Children & Youth (SCY)

Minimum time commitment: six months
Type: remote
Keywords: youth; leadership; community service

People aged 14-17 make up our Youth Advisory Board, which advises our youth advocates on how to improve our services for teens, proposes new projects and events centered around teens, and develops the annual Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month campaign.

This program may satisfy high school graduation requirements.

Onboarding requirements:

  • Be aged 14-17

  • Interview with the Youth Advisory Board supervisor

Domestic Violence & Direct Services

 

Volunteer Advocate for Survivors of Domestic Violence

Department: Advocacy & Prevention
Program: Services for Survivors of Domestic Violence (SSDV)

Minimum time commitment: 12 months
Type: remote and/or in-person depending on chosen services
Keywords: direct service; advocacy; peer counseling; crisis intervention

Volunteer advocates who complete the domestic violence state certification training may participate in direct service with survivors. Some options are remote/virtual while others are in person. The only program required of all volunteer advocates is hotline; the others are fully optional.

Onboarding requirements:

After completing their certification training, volunteer advocates may participate in one or more of the following options:

  1. Hotline advocacy (required of all volunteer advocates):
    Hotline advocates take a once-weekly shift on our 24-hour domestic violence, providing crisis intervention support, safety-planning, peer counseling, and domestic violence education to callers.

  2. Drop-in advocacy (optional):
    Volunteer advocates may choose to provide the same kind of support we offer over our hotline in in-person services as well, under the support and supervision of a staff advocate.

  3. Legal advocacy (optional):
    Every Thursday morning, advocates who are interested in providing legal advocacy services will be in person at the Watsonville courthouse to assist survivors with domestic violence and elder abuse restraining orders, provide legal information, and offer emotional support as needed.

  4. Teen services facilitation (optional):
    Volunteer advocates who have completed a youth-level background check would also be eligible to participate in our youth services. This involves a once-weekly prosocial group for teens of all genders aged 12-17 and the possibility of bringing dating violence workshops to local middle and high schools.

  5. Independent community projects (optional):
    Volunteer advocates who identify a need in regards to domestic violence may offer a project proposal on how to address that need. Upon approval, the advocate receives support and supervision from Walnut Avenue in effectuating their project proposal. Past projects have included translation of domestic violence educational material into minority languages; developing resources for underserved and marginalized demographics; transformative justice and community accountability programming; and various academic research projects in Santa Cruz County.