Volunteer

Whether one hour or twenty, the commitment to service that volunteers make are important to Didi Hirsch's clients and staff.  Volunteers are always welcome at Didi Hirsch; they help us achieve our mission to provide quality mental health and substance abuse services to people in need.  

Some programs depend heavily on volunteers - such as the 24-hour suicide crisis line, which is staffed entirely by volunteers.  If you are interested in volunteering for the crisis line, see below or click here.

Other programs may need volunteers seasonally or on a case-by-case basis. For example, volunteers can do administrative work, teach classes, facilitate activities, or provide childcare.

Please understand that in order to keep our sites healthy and safe, a volunteer screening process is necessary.  For an overview of the volunteer application, click here.  If you are interested in general volunteering, please contact Lorenza Loza at (310) 751-5353 or volunteer@didihirsch.org.  

Volunteer for the 24-hour suicide prevention Crisis Line

Our Suicide Prevention Center needs your help to staff its 24-hour Crisis Line. Volunteers receive a 60-hour training course to prepare them to take crisis calls. Training classes are held on Saturdays at our main office in Culver City in January, May, and September of each year.

The next training class starts on September 18, 2010.

To be considered, please apply by Friday September 3.

Each training class takes place over a period of seven consecutive Saturdays from 8:45 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.  In addition to the seven Saturdays, the potential volunteer is asked to attend three separate shifts (of their choice) to become thoroughly familiar with the operation and administration of the lines. Our training will start with a full weekend seminar of ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training). This is an evidence-based training model, complementary to our suicide prevention training, and takes place on the weekend of September 18 and 19. The subsequent seven Saturdays of training will conclude on November 13, 2010.

After completion of the training, graduates are asked to select a shift of their preference and commit to it for a minimum of one year. Each shift is four hours in duration and the volunteer commitment therefore, after training, is four hours per week. At all times, a shift supervisor is present in the crisis call center for guidance.  Help is always available - at no time are you left alone with a call.

To maintain skill level after training, all staff and volunteers are asked to attend a total of four continuing education lectures per year.  Held at our main office, these seminars explore suicide and related topics and are provided by professionals in their respective areas of expertise.

No prior qualifications are required to volunteer; we ask only that you bring an open mind, a non-judgmental attitude, and a willingness to learn. Bi-lingual Spanish/English speakers, fully fluent in both languages, are especially welcome.

Please contact Dave Smith, our Training Coordinator, at (310) 895 -2325 or at dsmith@didihirsch.org for more information or to receive an application. You may also download volunteer application here.