(Posted 2024 December)
Meet Suzan Osman, Hotline Volunteer
Tell us a little about yourself. What is your professional background? My educational background is in international peace and conflict resolution, and I’ve primarily worked within the international development space in a variety of different roles. I'm currently a monitoring and evaluation specialist with the State Department's Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Bureau.
How long have you been volunteering? What led to your initial desire to volunteer and serve others? I’ve been volunteering about a year. I’ve always been interested in human and community services; being a social worker is actually my dream role. I was also looking for a way to be more involved in the community.
What interested you in volunteering with Fairfax County’s Domestic and Sexual Violence Services? I remember reading an article sometime after the pandemic about half of homicides in Fairfax being domestic related. This really shocked me and stuck with me. When I started looking for volunteer opportunities, I came across some with DSVS. I knew right away I wanted to apply. I was initially interested in providing my data analysis services because I thought that’s all I could contribute, but when [now-former Volunteer Manager] Tanisha mentioned the hotline during orientation, I was intrigued.
What is the most challenging part of volunteering? How did you overcome this challenge? The most challenging part for me is the feeling of not being able to provide enough to our clients at times. Self-doubt sets in after each call, making me wonder if I said the right thing or provided them with all the information they needed. I deal with this by reassuring myself that I did the best I could and remind myself that this is just the first part of their healing journey. I’m a monitoring and evaluation data nerd at heart, so reading up on evaluations done on the effectiveness of these types of services also makes me feel better.
What’s the best part of volunteering? Share your most memorable experience. My experience volunteering has all been positive so far.
What has been your favorite training? What did you like about it? What did you learn? Aside from the initial training, I’ve only done one other training so far. My favorite part of it was the role play. It was so helpful to just talk through different scenarios.
What are your three greatest strengths? How have you been able to display and use these strengths when serving others? My patience, listening skills, and attention to detail. I’ve been able to use these to create a supportive environment for callers to be able to share their stories.
What advice do you have for people who may be thinking about becoming a DSVS volunteer? I would say just do it. It may never feel like the right time, but once you take that first step to apply and get started with the training, it all goes by very quickly.
What do you wish you could do more of as a volunteer? I wish I could support outreach. I really enjoy engaging face-to-face with people in the community and letting them know about all the great services we provide.
What are some of your hobbies and interests? I love to travel and experience different cultures. The more I've seen of the world, the more I realize most people are more alike than different. I also love being outdoors. Something about being in nature just heals my soul. I usually try to get in one good hike every time I travel. I’m currently training for a hiking trip to Patagonia. It's been on my bucket list for a while, so I'm looking forward to crossing it off!
This article posting is part of the Domestic and Sexual Violence Services' Volunteer Voices monthly newsletter for current and potential volunteers. If you're not already a volunteer, learn how to get involved. Find out about upcoming trainings, volunteer trainings, happenings around the DSVS office and information about articles, books, media recommendations and more.
Learn more about the Domestic and Sexual Violence Services (DSVS).