Turning Point will host a volunteer training for women interested in volunteering in the women’s shelter in Warrenton.Training will be held from 6-9 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays beginning Feb. 13. Two types of volunteers are needed: donation services volunteers who record and sort donated items and direct service volunteers who work directly with the women and children by covering shelter and responding to hotline calls.Donation services volunteers complete six hours of training and help organize donated items so they can be easily accessed. Work hours are flexible and varied.Direct services volunteers provide double coverage of the shelter from 5-9 p.m. each evening helping with dinner, evening chores, playtime and story time, childcare and bedtime activities. Those who volunteer are expected to work at least two four-hour shifts per month. Volunteers are always in the company of a paid and trained staff member.Direct services volunteers complete 48 contact hours of training that satisfy training standards set by the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. Once completed, the 48-hour training is transferable to other domestic and sexual violence programs in Missouri.Working directly with victims can be a rewarding and interesting means of investing in the community. The women and children who come to Turning Point’s shelter have been traumatized, violated and are homeless. Their situations are complicated and the pain can feel raw and overwhelming.However, staff and volunteers also witness the changes women are able to make in their lives, and they participate in supporting and welcoming the shelter residents at a time when they are most alone.Volunteers must be able to talk on the phone, walk through the shelter and manage steps, be sensitive to the dynamics of domestic and sexual violence; be able to remain calm and patient under stressful conditions; have strong interpersonal skills; be comfortable with email and computers; and possess a valid and current Missouri drivers license and insurance.In addition, all volunteers must be able to maintain confidential information, and they must be open to working with people from a variety of ethnic, racial, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds and LGBT identities.They must be nonjudgmental and supportive around the impact of trauma and the complicating influence of addiction, mental illness and poverty.Interested individuals should email Ellen Reed, executive director, at executive.director@turningpointdvs.com.Turning Point