Hotline Advocates, as our volunteers are called, provide several different services to survivors of sexual violence. These services include:

  • Talking on the telephone to people who need support, information and/or referrals to other community services
  • Accompanying survivors to emergency rooms to support them while they get medical attention and if they choose to have evidence collected
  • Accompanying survivors to police departments when they decide to report sexual assault/sexual abuse.

Requirements for becoming a SACC Volunteer are:

  • Must be 18 years of age
  • Have access to reliable transportation
  • Authorize statewide background checks
  • Successfully complete the SACC Hotline Volunteer training
  • If you are a good listener, non-judgmental, and have a sensitivity to issues of sexual violence, we would like to hear from you!

How to become a SACC Volunteer:

Anyone interested in becoming a SACC Volunteer must complete the initial 409-hour training. Training if offered several times a year. The training process includes several steps:

  1. Pre-training Interview
  2. Application Process, Completion of Training – training can include, but is not limited to, a day long emergency room initiation, background check, telephone role-playing, and four-hour ride-a-long with Lewiston Police Department or other local police department
  3. Exit/Post-training Interview

Training topics include information about:

  • Sexual Assault
  • Child Sexual Abuse
  • Sexual Harassment and Cult Abuse
  • Medical Procedures and Options
  • Legal Options
  • Mental Health
  • Ritualistic and Cult Abuse
  • Communication Skills
  • Crisis Support and Management

How to Support a Survivor of Sexual Violence

It is important not to draw conclusions from the way a survivor looks or acts. The fact that a survivor may be calm and controlled or making jokes does not mean that the assault or abuse did not happen. Everyone responds to traumatic events differently.

More information

If you would like more information and an application package, please call our office at 784-5272, or send us an email to clientservices@sexualassaultcrisiscenter.org, with your name and address and why you are interested in being SACC Volunteer Advocate and information will be sent to you. If you need immediate assistance or would like to speak to an Advocate, please call our 24-hour hotline at 1-800-871-7741, (TTY) 1-888-458-5599.