KENT COUNTY, Mich. — The Kent County Sheriff's Office (KSCO) is looking for volunteers to help in their Victim Services Unit.
The Victim Services Unit consists of on-call volunteers that work directly with Sheriff's deputies when responding to calls involving unexpected death. These types of calls can range from deadly crashes, overdoses or homicides.
The volunteers act as victim advocates who work alongside deputies when they have to notify someone about a death so they can support those impacted and help them through the grieving process.
Kent County Sheriff Michelle LaJoye-Young says while its difficult work, it makes a lasting impact on our community.
"So, this program has been just unbelievable assistance to the Sheriff's Office. But I hear from people who've been served by this group all the time, and how much it helped them to have somebody walking beside them as they went through these dark hours," said Sheriff Young.
Last year, the advocates helped the Sheriff’s Office responded to more than 330 calls involving a death.
Victim Advocate Requirements:
- Commit to being on-call for 7 days (6a-6p) or nights (6p-6a) every month including their fair share of weekends and holidays being on call.
- Possess great listening skills, compassion and a willingness to focus on others.
- Attend a 20-hour weekend training, monthly debriefings and 12 continuing education hours per year.
- Volunteers must be 18 years old or older and willing to complete a background check.
- Training is offered not only by the KCSO, but the Michigan Sheriff's Association VSU Training Team.
If you are interested in joining please contact Victim Services Unit Coordinator AJ Emery at ajemery@kentcountymi.gov or (616) 632-6221.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.