Welcome to the 2020 December issue of Volunteer Voices, a monthly newsletter for current and potential Domestic and Sexual Violence Services (DSVS) volunteers.
In this Issue:
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Hello everyone,
I hope everyone is well and, hopefully, enjoying some holiday cheer! My name is Sandra Emo and I began working as a Crisis Line Specialist in March 2020. So far. I love my job and being able to engage with my team (even if remotely). Prior to working at DSVS, I worked in property management but did not feel passionate since I wasn’t in a line of work where I felt I was helping people directly. I have a bachelor’s degree in psychology and am currently pursuing my master’s in mental health counseling. I hope to continue growing and learning in the field of social services and having the ability to make an impact in the lives of my community.
When I am not working, I enjoy spending time with my family. We have two beautiful girls and a small zoo of pets. I thoroughly love being outdoors, craft beer, and finding tasty eats to try. I look forward to continuing to meet all of the incredible people who work for this agency!
Sandra Emo
Crisis Line Specialist
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
—Aesop
Though Fairfax County’s office buildings currently are closed to the public, DSVS volunteers can still help answer the Domestic and Sexual Violence 24-Hour Hotline. We are also still providing hospital accompaniment via the phone. If you have questions about your role during the pandemic, contact Lynne Rowson or Ara Jo (Hotline) and Angela Acosta (Hospital Accompaniment).
Each newsletter will include this section to help share reviews, spotlight the people who support Domestic and Sexual Violence Services, recognize birthdays and list upcoming trainings and meetings.
The Vow
“The Vow,” a nine-episode docuseries on HBO, depicts a former multiple-level marketing organization, known as NXIVM, founded by a man named Keith Raniere in 1998. NXIVM was marketed as a self-improvement program that emphasized personal and professional growth and development. NXIVM offered seminars internationally and allowed members to earn income by on-boarding new members. A few of the members mentioned in the docuseries were celebrities, mainly actors/actresses. Clare Bronfman, an heir to Seagram’s, was an active member of NXIVM and used her family’s wealth to help fund the organization. Raniere not only had this financial support, but had many other enablers featured in the series, such as a psychotherapist named Nancy Salzman, who co-led the organization with him.
On the outside, NXIVM appeared to be an organization with a positive mission geared toward improving its members’ lives. However, Raniere used this organization to recruit women into an underground sex cult. Wow! Did not see that one coming! Like Jeffrey Epstein, Raniere used women to recruit other women whom he abused, controlled, sexually trafficked and raped. He even had these women branding one another with his initials. He controlled every aspect of these women’s lives down to how much sleep they could get and how many calories they could ingest daily. He used methods of coercive control to keep them in this cult, which was termed Dominus Obsequious Sororium (DOS). Members of DOS had to provide potential blackmail material, termed “collateral,” upon joining. These women were psychologically manipulated by Raniere to believe they were doing something positive for themselves and that they needed him to fulfill their lives.
A few of the members of NXIVM and DOS become aware that Raniere’s intentions were harmful and abusive. These members are featured in “The Vow.” The series provides a look into their lives post-NXIVM and how they work together in order to take Raniere down and help save the many women who were still under his spell and in harm’s way. The series ends with Raniere getting arrested in Mexico and being extradited to the United States, where he will stand trial for many charges, including sex trafficking and racketeering. In addition, many of his enablers were arrested and charged. Some have been sentenced already, and by the time you read this article, Raniere will have been sentenced, too.
I highly recommend this jaw-dropping series and was in awe and inspired by the bravery of the victims that came forward and worked tirelessly to help save others and make sure justice was served. HBO has announced that there will be a part two of this series released in 2021. To be continued ….
—Jen Perkins
Ellie Carlson, Hospital Accompaniment Support Advocate (HASA) and Anger and Domestic Abuse Prevention and Treatment (ADAPT) Volunteer
"I initially wanted to volunteer in this role to gain practice experience while seeking my degree in social work. However, my time as a HASA and ADAPT volunteer has enriched my life in more ways than I expected."
Learn more about why Ellie volunteers with Domestic and Sexual Violence Services.
Aimee Baldillo, 23
Jennifer Lloyd, 23
Carol Burns, 29
Mary Shoukat, 29
Louise Lever, 30
Active DSVS volunteers may sign up for training. If you are interested in a training and not currently volunteering with DSVS, please contact Debra Ranf or visit the VOICES web page for current volunteer opportunities.
Webinars
Evidence Is Power
Community-based agencies receive growing pressure to implement “evidence-based programs”—that is, programs that have been studied and deemed “effective” by researchers. But what is considered evidence? And how can community-based agencies build their own evidence of what works in their communities? This webinar will examine these questions and explore the many opportunities and challenges that agencies face when conducting research and evaluations in community settings. We will discuss strategies for agencies to maximize the utility and power of the data they collect.
The National LGBTQ Institute on IPV
Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020
3-4:30 p.m.
There are no quarterly trainings this month.
Please take a moment to log on to your Volunteer Management System (VMS) account and log your hours for the month of November. Please also log any time you spent on training under “volunteer training.” If you do not see this selection under your opportunities, please email Debra Ranf, and she will log on to add it to your account.
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Please enter your hours for each day you volunteered and not as a lump sum.
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If you need to log hours for a previous month, please send email Debra to let her know so she can be aware of the entry and expedite the approval process.
Check out past issues of Volunteer Voices.