Trauma Intervention Program of Greater Portland

TIP volunteers are citizens of all ages and occupations who have a deep desire to help others. Many of our volunteers have been through a traumatic experience themselves and realize the importance of immediate support from a caring and knowledgeable person.

To be a TIP volunteer, it takes...

• Generosity...a willingness to give your time to others

• Understanding, because their lives might be very different from your own

• Empathy...an ability to put yourself in someone else's shoes and feel what they must feel

• Compassion, to truly care about making someone else's life better

• Patience...because the process doesn't always go as smoothly as it might

• Dedication...to stick with the call and see it through

TIP of Greater Portland is a chapter of Trauma Intervention Programs, Inc. (TIP), a national non-profit organization founded in 1985. TIP has 15 affiliates serving over 250 cities across the nation.

TIP received the prestigious Innovations Award in State and Local Government from Harvard University and Ford Foundation, the Crime Victim Service Award from the U.S. Justice Department, and the Governor's Victim Service Award from the State of California.

Trauma victims and survivors are often confronted with circumstances and situations for which they are totally unprepared, and they often feel devastated, alone, and overwhelmed. The emergency responders on scene must focus on their job duties and responsibilities during crises and are not able to provide the immediate support victims and survivors need. TIP volunteers are able to provide that much needed immediate emotional and practical support to those they are called to be with.

TIP volunteers are dispatched at the request of police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and hospital personnel to assist:

• family members and friends following a natural or unexpected death.

• victims of crime, including rape, assault, robbery, and burglary victims of fire

• disoriented or lonely older persons

• persons involved in vehicle accidents

• persons who are distraught and seeking immediate support

• family members of a person who has completed suicide

Volunteer activities:

• providing emotional support

• helping to arrange shelter, food, clothing, and transportation

• serving as a liaison between survivors, emergency responders, and hospital authorities

• helping to arrange follow-up services

• providing information and referral to appropriate agencies for ongoing assistance