Each day our Steadfast House volunteers and staff see the impact that caring, consistent adults can have on a child who has experienced trauma in his or her young life. Volunteers who lead structured play tell us children become more open and comfortable when they see familiar faces in the playroom. Staff case managers witness changes in the children as their mothers become more confident in their own transformation, and therefore, more caring and consistent with their children.
A new program at Steadfast House will take a structured approach through play and learning in order to mitigate the effects of trauma. The Steadfast Partners Program, which will start with a day-long training session on Saturday, Sept. 23, is seeking volunteers who can commit for six months to be consciously paired with a child in the program with whom they will be a supportive, caring, encouraging, patient, safe and consistent partner each week.
The goals of the Steadfast Partners Program include:
• Providing a safe space for children to play, learn, grow, build self-esteem and be encouraged by caring adults.
• Helping mitigate the effects of trauma by helping children develop healthy responses and tools for dealing effectively with trauma and trauma-related stress.
• Promoting community awareness and understanding of how to identify and positively respond to trauma-influenced behaviors in children.
• Partnering with parents to set goals for their child’s participation, giving the parent an opportunity to advocate for, learn about and celebrate with their child.
Volunteers will eat dinner with their child’s family each week and will be responsible for leading group and one-on-one activities with their child. Volunteers will be expected to review the program curriculum in advance each week to revise/supplement activities as needed to fit their child’s individual needs. Please note that volunteers for this role must be able to commit to the program two hours a week for a minimum of six months.
Continuing education trainings and workshops are held periodically and some may be mandatory.
Interested volunteers should fill out a volunteer application, which can be found online at https://abccm.volunteerhub.com/userregistrationwizard/usernamepassword. All program volunteers must consent to a background check, attend an in-person interview, and complete our two-part volunteer orientation and training session. Volunteers must be 18 years of age or older.
Volunteer orientation and training sessions are held at ABCCM’s Servant Leadership Center located at 20 Twentieth Street, Asheville, NC.
Can you be a caring, consistent adult for a child? Call (828) 398-6985 for more information about the program and training session on Sept. 23.