Participants will learn how to aid domestic violence victims.

(Courtesy of JFS MetroWest) Rachel Coalition, the domestic violence division of Jewish Family Service of MetroWest NJ (JFS), is seeking volunteers for its Court Advocate Program. This 40-hour, hands-on training program educates participants to assist domestic violence victims with emotional and administrative support as they await their restraining order hearing in Essex Family Court in Newark, New Jersey.

Training sessions begin Wednesday, October 26, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. No formal legal experience or education is required for this volunteer position. Volunteers will have an opportunity to observe family court proceedings. Volunteers who have already taken a 40-hour domestic violence training class can qualify for an abbreviated training. For further information on the Court Advocate Program and to schedule an interview, please contact Sherri Goldman at [email protected].

Each year, the Essex Family Court Domestic Violence Unit in Newark presides over more than 6,000 cases of domestic violence. Since 2006, Rachel Coalition has placed trained court advocate volunteers in the Essex County Family Court waiting room to explain the restraining order process to victims, assist with the initial application and provide information about community services such as legal, counseling and shelters, as well as offer unconditional emotional support.

For more information, please call 973-765-9050 or visit www.jfsmetrowest.org.