Hope Alliance In Great Need Of Volunteers

ROUND ROCK, TX -- As Williamson County continues to grow, so too has the need grown for volunteers for the region’s domestic violence shelter.

Melinda Biggs, development coordinator for Hope Alliance, said volunteers are a critical cog in victim outreach.

“Volunteers help us fill a gap in lack of staffing that we just can’t afford,” she told KVUE-TV.

Individuals working as volunteers perform tasks ranging from office work to answering telephones in answering the center’s 24-hour hotline to playing with children living in the shelter with their moms.

Volunteers are also able to tailor their scheduled depending on their set of skills. For example, one shelter volunteer hosts cooking classes as her contribution.

Biggs said it’s critical to have enough volunteers in order to be able to serve as many people in the shelter as possible. She told the television station that some people seeking shelter have been turned away due to logistics concerns, and volunteers can help fill that gap.

“We have waiting lists on our programs and have turned away 150 people a month just becasue we can’t fit them in this building at the shelter,” she said. “Unfortunately, there is a big need for this place in our community.”

Patricia Hartman is prototypical Hope Alliance shelter volunteer. Now an empty-nester after having raised four children, she sought the opportunity to help as a way of giving back to the community.

“I’ll come in and I’ll do art projects with the kids, or I’ll interact with just the child so mom can have a little bit of time,” Hartman told the television station, in describing her volunteer duties. “To be able to help out and be that extra support is really important to me.”

Prospective volunteers undergo a background check before being placed, as well as training. To sign up as a volunteer, visit the Hope Alliance website here.