domestic violence

Last night I went to an information session about volunteer opportunities with Child and Family Services working in the area of Domestic Violence. It was very interesting. I knew already a little bit about all of the areas that the presenters talked about, but I learned a lot more in detail about the various ways to help. There were four major areas: being a support to rape victims by phone and in the hospital (emergency room), connecting with and supporting domestic violence victims at Carolinas Medical Center, helping out in a variety of ways at the Shelter for Battered Women, and being a support person in the courtroom for victims of domestic violence (mostly when they are seeking a restraining order.) I haven't figured out yet what I can do, but I do want to participate in some way. There is a tremendous need for volunteers in all these areas.
In the meantime, I have connected up with a friend of a friend to do some work with students in a low-income neighborhood in northeast Charlotte, one evening a week. There is another possibility for volunteering that I haven't explored yet, working in a middle school. I don't know where I will go with that. And I don't know why at this point, volunteering has become such an intense interest for me. I have been doing a lot of volunteer work for a lot of years, so it is not like I feel guilty for not doing anything to help in the community! I guess I just see such a need, and I have always been an idealistic person, believing that one person can make a difference, change is possible, etc. And I believe that all this extra energy that I have ought to be spent doing something worthwhile, helping others.