Welcome to the 2021 September 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 DSVS Volunteers,
My name is Lisa Groat, and I began working as a Domestic and Sexual Violence counselor in June 2021. Prior to joining the DSVS team, I was a social services specialist with Fairfax County Protection and Preservation Services, making home visits to families at heightened risk of child abuse or neglect.
I first worked with domestic violence survivors as a client services coordinator at Doorways’ Safehouse in Arlington County, and gained further experience during my nine years as a therapist and case manager at Ayuda, where I served immigrant survivors of domestic and sexual violence and human trafficking.
Social work is my second career. As a student at the University of Virginia, I discovered a love for teaching while participating in a volunteer program where I taught English to migrant workers and their families. After graduating, I taught English in Mexico, South Korea and Ecuador before serving as an AmeriCorps volunteer in the ESL and Advocacy programs at the Little Sisters of the Assumption Family Health Service in East Harlem. Working as an advocate for low-income immigrant families inspired me to make a career change, and I returned to school to earn an MSW and graduate certificate in social work with Latino/as from the University of Denver.
On a personal note, I am from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and share my home with a Maine Coon mix cat named Cersei (I was watching “Game of Thrones” when I adopted her). My hobby is making greeting cards, though lately I have come to suspect that my true hobby is collecting crafting supplies rather than actually using them.
Thank you very much for donating your time to making a difference in the lives of survivors. Volunteering has changed the course of my life twice, and I hope that you will find the experience equally rewarding.
Sincerely,
Lisa Groat
Counseling
Practice Practical Self-Care
You can best weather daily stress by balancing living in the now and planning for the future. Practicing practical self-care can help you do this. Learn more about practical self-care and creating your self-care toolkit.
Learn tips for how to give yourself care.
Gender-Based Violence
Gender-based violence, or GBV, can be defined as harmful acts directed at an individual or group based on actual or perceived biological sex, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, and/or lack of adherence to varying socially constructed norms around masculinity and femininity.
Check out this article to learn more about GBV.
“If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.”
—Booker T. Washington
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.
Legal Services of Northern Virginia
Legal Services of Northern Virginia’s (LSNV) mission is simple: to provide access to justice for disadvantaged individuals and communities. LSNV’s partnership with the Domestic Violence Action Center (DVAC) accomplishes that. Learn more about LSNV’s work.
"The Wisdom of Trauma"
"Trauma is not what happens to you. Trauma is what happens inside you as a result of what happens to you." —Dr. Gabor Maté
“The Wisdom of Trauma” is a documentary that is touching and enlightening. The movie illuminates the many underlying causes of mental illnesses, chronic illnesses and addictions, which are interconnected with trauma. It reveals the impact of trauma, an overwhelming threat that lives within us, in our body, that led to our struggles, to our push-pull behaviors of wanting to love yet afraid to receive that love, which can be confusing and frustrating to ourselves and our loved ones.
I appreciate the movie as it provides a compassionate view to understanding and acknowledging the trauma within us. It is a great reminder to remember to be kind, to be patient and, last but not least, to have compassion for ourselves and others.
I highly recommend the panel discussions as well, as they provide valuable insights and learnings about trauma.
—Ni Hsieh
Meet Maci Nordone, Hospital Accompaniment Support Advocate and ADAPT Volunteer
“I will always remember one client who came into class very closed off, against the curriculum and just wanting to ‘get by’ so they could graduate. However, by the end of the class, they shared with us that they learned how to better connect with their emotions and no longer felt insecure sharing them with others,” says Maci Nordone, Hospital Accompaniment Support Advocate and ADAPT volunteer. “Experiences like that make all the challenging times worth it.” Learn more about Maci’s volunteer story.
Helen Walker, 8
Victor Batson, 12
Maria Sayrs, 19
Rachel Wilks-McCann, 20
Training: Strangulation and Sexual Violence
Friday, Sept. 10, 2021
1-2:30 p.m.
Beth Roach will share her expertise on strangulation and asphyxiation as they are used in intimate partner and non-intimate partner sexual violence. She will describe the general dangers and signs of strangulation, as well as the unique characteristics of strangulation/ asphyxiation of sexual violence victims, how to identify and support strangulation victims, and Forensic Assessment and Consultation Team (FACT) services. This training is free but registration is required.
QUARTERLY TRAININGS
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 August. 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.