Florham Park, NJ—The Rachel Coalition, a partnership of nine Northern New Jersey organizations, working together to provide services and support programs for victims of domestic violence in Essex and Morris County, is seeking volunteers for its highly respected 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, NJ. Training sessions begin March 10, 2015 and will be held on Tuesday evenings from 6:00- 9:00 p.m. through June 9th. 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.

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

“The Family Court of Essex County has embraced Rachel Coalition’s legal court advocates and we are actively soliciting new participants to enroll in our next session and join our elite core of volunteers. If you are seeking a volunteer position with a difference, have an interest in the legal system and want to learn more about ways to assist victims of domestic violence, then this is your invitation. I look forward to working with each new class and the energy, enthusiasm and commitment that they bring to the program,” noted Suzanne Groisser, Esq., Rachel Coalition Coordinator of Legal Services.

The Rachel Coalition is a partnership of nine northern New Jersey organizations working together to respond to domestic violence. The partners include Jewish Family Service of MetroWest, National Council of Jewish Women: Essex Country Section, National Council of Jewish Women: West Morris Section, Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ, MetroWest Rabbinic Cabinet, Saint Barnabas Medical Center, Hadassah: Northern New Jersey Region, Jewish Women International: North Atlantic Region and JCC MetroWest.

Rachel Coalition Services include: a 24-hour crisis response line (973-740-1233), individual counseling and support groups for victims and their children, access to legal and medical assistance, and outreach and education programming.

For further information on the Court Advocate Program and to schedule an interview, please contact Groisser at [email protected].

By Jewish Family Service of Metrowest NJ