New Jersey Jewish News
New Jersey Feature
‘Rachel’ volunteers aid victims of violence
It’s a Friday morning in the waiting room of the domestic violence office in the Essex County Courthouse in Newark, and several women sit on benches along the wall while others watch their children in a play area outfitted with toys and tables. Most are there to apply for restraining orders against their partners.
Volunteers approach the women to offer assistance. It could be to provide information about safe houses and other social services or to offer guidance on how to complete the forms for a temporary or final restraining order. Sometimes it is just to lend a supportive ear.
Ann, a volunteer who asked that her last name not be used, described the scene to a reporter. When she arrived there for the first time, she worried that people would find her “intrusive.” But she found just the opposite.
“They embraced us,” she said. “They were eager not only to say what brought them to the situation but they were curious to know what the process would be. ”
Ann, volunteer coordinator Erika Young, and seven other volunteers form the core of a new Rachel Coalition court advocacy program, begun in March. Every Friday, for three hours, at least two volunteers are available in the waiting room to offer services. In addition to explaining the restraining order process, helping fill out forms, and offering moral support, they distribute a sheet listing social service agencies.
The Rachel Coalition was established in 1997 to address the concerns of victims of domestic abuse. It is a beneficiary agency of United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ. While primarily serving the Jewish community, its services are available to all in need of its assistance.
Diane Finn, coordinator of client services for the Rachel Coalition, recognized the need for the new program last year, when she attended a meeting of court personnel, including judges, probation officers, hearing officers, and other administrators. There, she said, people pointed out that victims of domestic violence generally speak with attorneys and other court personnel only regarding their legal issues.
“There was the feeling they might need referrals for food assistance, financial assistance, and other community resources,” Finn said. In addition, she said, “a lot of victims are filled with emotion. They need a clear sense of what the judge needs to hear” in order to issue a restraining order.
At the same, Finn knew the Rachel Coalition had a cohort of volunteers looking for opportunities. Their needs dovetailed perfectly, however, with the coalition’s increasing focus on the legal aspects of domestic violence. It has created pamphlets offering guidance with respect to the rights of victims of domestic violence, and in 2003 began offering legal services at no cost to Rachel Coalition clients.
About one year ago, Finn set out to create a volunteer squad that would operate on a regular schedule. And the Rachel Coalition invited the Essex County Section of National Council of Jewish Women to partner with them on the project.
Getting approval from the court and then recruiting the right mix of people were the biggest hurdles, Finn said.
“I wanted to make sure I had a culturally and racially diverse group” to work with the mix of people who appear in the waiting room, she said. NCJW helped with the recruitment. “Our specialty is getting volunteers to work with many organizations in the community,” said executive director Cathy Silverman. Finn also tapped United Jewish Communities of MetroWest New Jersey and placed an ad in New Jersey Jewish News. She went outside the Jewish community as well, contacting the Wise Women’s Center of Essex County College and the crisis response teams that operate in each township in New Jersey.
By January, Finn had everything in place and set up training. (The training is mandated by the state in order for the volunteers to have the protection of confidentiality in their conversations with people in the waiting room.) Nine women, including Young and Ann, completed 40 hours of training (or 20, for those who have already been trained for other volunteer positions) and five weeks ago began staffing the volunteer positions every Friday morning from 9 until noon.
As the program began, Finn remained anxious. The people coming into the court waiting room “have a lot of very complex, multi-faceted problems,” she said. “I worried about whether the volunteers would feel overwhelmed. Also, working with the court system — they have their own ways of doing things.” Still, she said, things have gone smoothly, even “better than expected.”
For Young of Short Hills, who started as a volunteer and takes over as coordinator in May, the program offers invaluable services.
“I see a lot of women going to court with a lot of ignorance. They don’t know what their rights are. They don’t know where to go, and out of fear, they back out of the restraining order. I felt strongly about giving them the aid they need and the moral backup they need to go forward.” Young also volunteers for New Jersey’s 211, an information and referral line that receives many calls involving domestic violence.
About half the volunteers have other experience with domestic violence volunteer work. Ann has served for about eight years on the police department’s volunteer squad. When the police get a domestic violence call, an on-call volunteer is beeped to join them to speak with the victims. (Such squads are mandatory in all NJ townships.)
Ann said the Rachel Coalition program picks up where the police squad ends. At the same time, the Rachel Coalition program has enhanced her effectiveness on the squad.
“After my court experience, I got called out, and in this case there was a man whose wife was very problematic. [Typically the victims are women.] He didn’t know where to begin, except that he had three small children whom he needed to protect. I started talking to him about a temporary restraining order with the extra knowledge I gained through the Rachel Coalition…. At the end, he hugged me and said, ‘Thank you so much. You’ve been a big help.’ That was terrific.”
While Ann found volunteering easier than she had anticipated, Young pointed out that the volunteers’ work is not easy and that not every person in the waiting room is ready to ask for help.
“Some people are very open to listening to what we have to say; some are not. The psychological implications of domestic violence are huge,” she said. “You have to be very attuned to serve them right and be able to help them. It takes a lot of concentrating and listening to what people are telling you, and trying very hard to get to them.”
But for Young, it’s all about offering hope. “You see all the different emotions when you walk into the waiting room. There are women with lots of rage. There are women with lots of sadness. But all in all, hope for a better future is the one key element in all of them.”
Finn and Young hope to add Tuesday mornings to the Rachel Coalition program schedule later this spring. Next fall, the coalition will offer a second training session. In the meantime, Friday mornings find volunteers canvassing the waiting room, offering help, guidance, and a friendly face.
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