During the worst hours of your life, a stranger might be called to help. That stranger will know what to say, how to listen and where to guide you.
Those strangers — volunteers with Trauma Intervention Programs — are dispatched to the scene of tragic events at the request of first responders.
Their job is to help family members until their support system arrives.
“We walk into a scene with our arms opened,” says Diane Conroy, who has been a TIP volunteer for nine years. “Our main job is to offer emotional and practical support.
“We stay with them until somebody closer to them can arrive so they’re not alone.”
TIP volunteers respond to calls 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. A full staff has 20 volunteers, but right now the organization is down to just 11.
A training session is being held in June for new volunteers. Training includes evening and weekend classes, homework and continuing education.
“No one should have to be alone in a tragic time in their life,” said Linda Epperson of Shalimar, who has been volunteering for 12 years. “At the end of it all, I seem to always get more than I give.”
TIP volunteers responded to 132 calls in Okaloosa County last year.
Ninety percent of their calls involve death, but volunteers also might be called to help victims of rape or other violent crimes.
They gently guide survivors.
“We’re taught to do a dance,” Epperson said. “We follow; we don’t lead with information. We follow what the client’s needs are.”
A Niceville woman who asked not to be named lost her elderly father earlier this year. She said she was at the house filled with police officers when a TIP volunteer arrived.
“It sure was nice to have someone stand by my side,” she said. “I was speechless.
“(The volunteer) reminded me of what was going on, the normal protocol, let me know of my avenues to turn to and how to handle things,” she said. “She was right there, right by my side, a little earth angel.”
CHECK IT OUT:
For more information about the June training for new Trauma Intervention Programs volunteers, call 850-934-6654. Information can also be found at www.tip-ser/org.
Daily News Staff Writer Wendy Victora can be reached at 850-315-4478 or wvictora@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @WendyVnwfdn.
