Kelly Brown - from Volunteer to Domestic Violence Advocate

By Alejandra Morales

Imagine deciding to volunteer your time to help your community and then, years later, becoming an integral part of the same organization you volunteered with. That’s the story of Kelly Brown, current Associate Director in NextStep Domestic Violence Project.

I met Kelly when I took the Comprehensive Advocacy, Intervention, Response and Ethics Training (CAIRET) required to volunteer for NextStep. She came in occasionally to the training sessions and would act in simulations of helpline calls with the CAIRET presenter to demonstrate how to respond in certain situations. Once, Kelly acted as the caller for one of my ten required role plays as a trainee; her actions and responses to my questions during and after the role play showed me how experienced she was.

As an advocate in the making, I couldn’t resist asking her for an interview to get to know more about her journey as a domestic violence advocate in NextStep. Kelly started by sharing her first interaction with the organization.

“I first encountered NextStep in their 3 day training about the abuse affected child that I needed to become a licensed childcare provider and open my own small home daycare. The course really taught me how to look for signs that there might be domestic violence or child abuse at home and how to effectively help the child and the non-offending parent. At the end of the course, I found myself wanting more information. I had learned so much that just opened my eyes to things that I just didn’t realize before, so I approached the presenter and asked if there were any opportunities. The presenter told me about the possibility of volunteering by actually answering calls and working with people who were impacted by domestic violence.”

That’s how Kelly started the 40-hour CAIRET in the evenings while taking care of her two children and managing her home daycare during the mornings. The other opportunities to volunteer were going to court with individuals during the day or facilitating support groups. These activities were done within office hours when Kelly wasn’t available, so volunteering on the helpline on the evenings and weekends made more sense for her.

“At first, when I was on call, I would live by my phone. I wouldn’t go anywhere. I had the handouts from the training about open questions and how to identify feelings right in front of me, and it was all helpful. I was nervous. I didn't want to make a mistake. I wanted to make sure that I had all the tools necessary to help that other person on the line.”

Kelly mentioned that before her first interaction with NextStep, she never knew there was a domestic violence program in her area and suspected many other people didn’t know either. So when she started volunteering, she became really proud of herself for being able to do this type of work and to help her community become more aware of these resources.

“When I started hearing those individuals calling the helpline, it wasn't what I was expecting. They had the same thoughts, the same feelings as I did. They were mothers, they were wives, they had jobs just like me. I realized that I could have been them, that I can become the person calling for help.”

After five months of taking from one to three calls each shift, Kelly didn’t need to have the CAIRET handouts in front of her as she became more familiar with the core activities of social change needed during a call in the helpline.

“I knew I could take those calls confidently no matter where I was.”

A job opportunity in NextStep opened up five years after Kelly became a volunteer. She got an interview and has been working as an advocate for the last 15 years. As part of her current work as Associate Director, Kelly is collaborating with coordinators to enhance NextStep’s education program and work with community members to assist the organization’s mission to ultimately prevent and end the cycle of domestic violence through education and social change.

If you’re interested in volunteering or getting involved in domestic violence advocacy, visit www.nextstepdvproject.org/volunteer to learn more.

About the author: Alejandra Morales is training to volunteer in NextStep Domestic Violence Project’s 24/7 helpline. She is currently a sophomore student in College of the Atlantic.