(Posted 2025 February)
Meet Karen Bilak, Hotline Volunteer
Tell us a little about yourself. What is your professional background? I’m a Northern Virginia native growing up in Woodbridge and living in Centreville for the past 26 years. I worked as a convention director managing conventions and trade shows. While I loved the travel and strategic planning, the position was extremely stressful. In July 2023 after a 40-year career, I retired and am enjoying free time, travel, and volunteering.
How long have you been volunteering? What led to your initial desire to volunteer and serve others? In high school I trained for the Prince William County Suicide Hotline but stopped volunteering once I started college. I was also active in volunteer work with my childhood church.
What interested you in volunteering with Fairfax County’s Domestic and Sexual Violence Services? I saw a notice on Volunteer Match about volunteering for DSVS in 2018 and signed up.
What’s the best part of volunteering? Share your most memorable experience. Feeling like you play a small part in helping another person navigate the DSVS process. It may be as simple as providing information on how to request a protective order. My most memorable experience was a call from a mother in Mexico who was concerned about her daughter here [in Fairfax] who was having domestic violence issues with her estranged husband. Using the language line, I was able to connect the mother with the local police who agreed to do a wellness check on the daughter.
What has been your favorite training? What did you like about it? What did you learn? I liked when a Fairfax County Police Department detective explained their role in domestic violence cases. I’m involved with the Sully District Community Advisory Committee, and DSVS and the FCPD are integral partners.
What are your three greatest strengths? How have you been able to display and use these strengths when serving others? My three greatest strengths are empathy, compassion, and organization. My career involved logistics, and I enjoy strategically determining the best way to help others.
What advice do you have for people who may be thinking about becoming a DSVS volunteer? Do it. The work can be hard, but it is also very fulfilling to know you are having a positive impact on an individual’s life during a time of crisis.
What do you wish you could do more of as a volunteer? Shout the praises of DSVS and the many resources provided by Fairfax County!
What are some of your hobbies and interests? I did Pro-Am competitive ballroom dancing for about 10 years in the 1990s and love anything related to dancing and music. I’m also a reality TV/BRAVO junkie.
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).