Call for volunteers from Victim/Witness Services Unit

The Lethbridge Police Service’s Victim/Witness Services Unit has been serving the community for 30 years to deliver 24 hour a day victim crisis support. The unit provides crisis care for people who have been victims of trauma and abuse. The unit has had close to 600 volunteers, working on over 41,000 case files. The unit has committed 480,000 hours of time as well. The group’s Program Manager, Catherine Pooley, says they are now looking for more volunteers to help out.

The unit had plans to plant a commemorative tree to help recognize all of the volunteers that have helped out over the 30 years. Unfortunately, the event was cancelled due to the pandemic. Pooley says she’s hopeful for a spring date to celebrate the occasion.

A call for volunteers has been put out by the unit, and Pooley says they do this every year.

“We’re looking to hire about 20 people. It is volunteer work, but it gives them an opportunity to learn a lot of skills that would help in terms of crisis support, and knowing how to support someone when they need it. We often get criminal justice students, psychology students. We can help connect them to resources after the fact, and keep them updated on court processes. We see people that just want to give back to their community. There’s no specific requirements to be able to do it, other than a criminal record check and a valid license. It’s an opportunity to connect with an incredible team of people. We have about 60 people on our team, to help give back to the community and be there when someone needs you.”

Applications for volunteers are being accepted until October 15th.

You can visit the Lethbridge Police Service website to apply https://www.lethbridgepolice.ca/victim-services