If your neighbor had to be told a loved one passed away unexpectedly or some other similar devastating news, would you be drawn to comfort them? What about finding a safe place to stay for the night for a domestic violence victim? If these people weren’t your next door neighbor, but perhaps your community neighbor, does it still tug at your heart? These are examples of situations where volunteers go through specialized training to become Victim Advocate volunteers.

If you find yourself watching way too much Netflix these days, consider spending that time in a much more meaningful way being a support and resource that augments sheriff deputies in their patrol duties. Tracy Baker, Advocate Coordinator for the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office, is seeking compassionate and resourceful adults to assist law enforcement in situations most commonly involving trauma, crisis, or tragedy. The emphasis on this role is in the resourcefulness of providing assistance and not a mental health role.

Before diving into the logistics of the role, let’s consider the positive impact you can have on our community through this volunteer opportunity. The Victim Advocate Program, or VAP, as the role is commonly called in law enforcement assists the deputies on a scene or at a location in the county by being a calm voice of reason and thoughtfulness to a victim or person possibly experiencing a crisis. The VAP provides resources and referrals that are helpful for a victim unfamiliar with the judicial system. 

The most successful VAP volunteers have deep empathy, a calm nature, are compassionate with a heart of service, and resourceful in their ability to problem solve. If you’ve ever been described by someone as being an ‘old soul’ this may be the perfect volunteer opportunity for you! There is no formal experience required, in fact, VAPs with a variety of life experience and work history are often the most successful in this role. A VAP will intuitively pull from their own life experience to build trust and rapport during these challenging moments on a scene. 

Tracy does all the training directly in small groups or one-on-one, offering a flexible schedule. After the classroom training, a new VAP will shadow a seasoned volunteer, and then have support resources available by phone once the new VAP clears the training process. Each VAP in the Sheriff’s Office program covers three shifts a month. Each shift is 12 hours and only requires the volunteer to be on-call and available to respond to a scene in Mesa County. For example, an on-call VAP may spend the time with family or friends, running errands, cleaning, tinkering with that old pick-up truck that still runs on gas, or whatever your normal day to day activities may be. For insurance purposes, a VAP must have a valid driver's license and insured vehicle available to use during their on-call shifts. 

For more information about becoming a Victim Advocate volunteer, visit https://bit.ly/VAPVolunteer or contact Tracy directly by emailing her at Tracy.Baker@mesacounty.us or calling her directly at (970) 244-3275.