Volunteering

Thank you for inquiring about our Volunteer Program within the Suicide Prevention and Addiction Hotline Crisis Counseling 24-Hour Program here at Crisis Services. We are located in Erie County and require on-site training and on-site volunteering at our agency.

Please Note: We currently do not offer remote volunteer opportunities.

To provide the community with these services 24-hours-a-day and 365-days-a-year we rely on our staff as well as our wonderful group of volunteers. Our volunteers are a very important part of our services and we could not offer these vital services if it were not for the hard work and devotion of our volunteers!! We thank you for your interest and hope you will agree to join the Crisis Services Team.

You can also check out our volunteer opportunities on VolunteerMatch!

Crisis Services Volunteer Opportunities:

Volunteering with the Crisis Counseling Program (CCP), Crisis Services 24 hour hotline, located in Buffalo, NY. By volunteering with the 24-hour hotline you would be afforded the opportunity to help others in times when they need someone the most – in their time of crisis. The hotline responds to calls 24 hours a day on a wide variety of issues and also acts as the hub of the agency filtering the calls for the other programs. To become a member of the Crisis Counseling Team you must go through an extensive training program that provides you with the important information and necessary skills that you will utilize as a phone counselor.

Please click here to read more about the requirements to be a CCP Volunteer. Please note the next round of CCP Volunteer Training won’t be held until September 2019.

The mandatory training dates are:

October/November 2020 Training

SESSION 1: 10/6 from 5PM-9PM (In-Person)
SESSION 2: 10/7 from 5PM-9PM: Paperwork Review (In-Person)
SESSION 3: 10/8 from 5PM-8PM: SANE Training (Via Zoom)
SESSION 4: 10/12 from 5PM-7PM: Law/Police (Via Zoom)
SESSION 5: 10/13 from 5PM-7PM: HIV (Via Zoom)
SESSION 6: 10/21 from 5PM-8PM: HRT (Via Zoom)
SESSION 7: 10/29 from 5PM-7PM: Neurobiology (Via Zoom)
SESSION 8: 11/2 from 5PM-7PM: Shelter (Via Zoom)
SESSION 9: 11/5 from 5PM-7PM: Cultural Competency
SESSION 10: 11/7 from 9AM-5PM (In-Person)

The next Crisis Counseling Program (CCP) Training will be held February 2021:

SESSION 1: 2/16 from 6PM-9PM
SESSION 2: 2/18 from 6PM-9PM
SESSION 3: 2/20 from 9AM-2PM
SESSION 4: 2/23 from 6PM-9PM
SESSION 5: 2/25 from 6PM-9PM
SESSION 6: 2/27 from 6PM-9PM

The Advocate Program is the Rape Crisis Center for Erie County and can offer many services to any individual in the county who is affected by the trauma of family violence, rape and sexual assault. The most valuable service we provide is 24 hour crisis intervention to assault victims, significant others and their family in 11 emergency departments in Erie County. To become a part of the Advocate Team we have an extensive training program which provides information on the dynamics of domestic violence, rape and sexual assault, the medical and legal aspects a survivor encounters, and the emotional impact a survivor may experience after a sexual assault or domestic violence incident.

August 2019 Advocate Training: