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"You can't let them near patients," said the director of family therapy in a major treatment
program 20 years ago; "they aren't trained; they might compromise confidentiality; they ... they ... it
wouldn't be safe." Times have indeed changed — at that program and around the country.
The director was replaced long ago, and volunteers do patient and family education programs,
run educational support groups for the children of clients in treatment, provide bridges to AA and Al-Anon,
welcome, orient and help to make comfortable both addicted individuals arriving for treatment and their
family members. They help in medical records and with other clerical work and work in the center's
bookstore, guiding patients and visitors to materials that will facilitate their understanding of
addiction and what they can do about it. They do fund raising, community outreach and community awareness
programs, in-service trainings for other departments and for area schools and agencies.
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A trained, skilled and committed volunteer has always been a piece of gold for cash-strapped
non-profit organizations, including treatment programs. Today, however, the potential volunteer has
decreasing available time and increasing pressures at home and on the job, and the "old-time" volunteer,
who served at the convenience of the agency is a vanishing breed. Yet, programs with flexibility and a
respect for the value of volunteers can recruit and retain quality volunteer staff whose work will
enhance the agency's effectiveness and, potentially, its bottom line. Volunteering is still a major
key to healthy, fulfilling and meaningful lives. Volunteering is giving. Through it, people learn
compassion, tolerance and, hopefully, a sense of duty to respond when there is a need.
Treatment centers can and should recognize and take advantage of this innate human drive to give to
one's community.
Who Will Serve?
Perhaps we should first discuss who should not serve: A good rule of thumb for recovering
individuals or family members is that at least two years of continuous recovery work should be behind
them, including participation in a 12-step recovery program. Recovering alcoholics and addicts who
had serious family of origin issues as well as their own addiction likely will need a longer time
before they will be able to do effective volunteer work in the addictions and prevention fields.
Who can serve?
Effective volunteers can be retired executives, active factory workers,
school teachers, area clinicians (who might be looking for referrals), homemakers, highly educated and
skilled individuals and folks with barely a GED. All have something to offer.
What can they do?
Almost any job, outside of the clinical staff responsibilities that
facilitates the healthy delivery of services to clients and their families should be considered for
volunteer service. The trick for the agency is to have clear job descriptions and expectations,
including a useful orientation program tailored to the needs of the agency and the volunteer.
Whether a person is in recovery or has never been negatively impacted by addiction in the family
is not relevant for most volunteer work. A clear understanding of addiction and steps to recovery
for both the client and the family are essential, however.
Where can you find them?
They are registered with your local volunteer action center or
your United Way, where they have already been through an initial screening. Treatment programs need to
register their needs with those same agencies so that, when a match surfaces, the agency will get the
opportunity to evaluate the volunteer and determine his/her appropriateness for service. Potential
volunteers are also available through the human resources departments of major local employers who are
assisting those about to retire to find meaningful volunteer service in the community. If your program
is affiliated with a medical institution, the spouses of doctors, the employees who do shift work and
community volunteers who have offered their services through the facility's volunteer services department
are all potential volunteers for your treatment program.
Job Descriptions
Volunteer staff, like paid staff in any non-profit, should function under a job description and
should be evaluated against it. They need to have the same responsibilities of being on time to work,
dressing appropriately for the position, being a team player with other staff, being qualified for the job,
etc. They need to have a person to whom they report and who holds them accountable.
Volunteer Coordinator in the Treatment Agency
A volunteer coordinator may be a part-time or full-time employee or a volunteer staff member.
The coordinator serves the treatment staff by ascertaining the needs that could be addressed by volunteers
— the needs of both the clinicians and the agency as a whole — and by recruiting, arranging training and
matching volunteers to meet those needs. The coordinator serves the needs of the volunteers by finding
appropriate assignments for them — assignments that utilize their talents and maximize their experiences
at the agency. The coordinator also assures that the volunteers have adequate preparation and support
for the work they do on behalf of the agency and has a regular follow-up system.
Appreciation
Volunteers need to know they are valued, not through banquets or luncheons once a year
(although these are nice), but by being included and listened to, as appropriate, in staff interactions,
by being offered meaningful work commensurate with their expertise and interests and by being thanked at
the end of each assignment.
Remember, today's volunteer is not just using up available time when serving.
That volunteer is juggling job and home responsibilities and giving up something important in order to
give to your agency and will want to know that the time and effort is worth it.
It takes time, focused energy and staff commitment to the value of volunteers in order to
build an effective team in a treatment center. Once you get them, they will be more likely to stay if
you are willing to keep in mind some of the simple attitudes and strategies addressed in this article.
© 2000 Targeted Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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