Volunteer Spotlight

“Hi!  My name is Aliya Mohamed, and I got involved with SAVIS because I have always had a passion for women’s issues and helping people with their problems.  Although this usually applied to friends, the idea of being able to help strangers through times of crisis was compelling, and the reality has proven to be challenging but incredibly rewarding.  I learned about SAVIS through a booth at my university, and that was the spark that finally got me to sign up for something I’d wondered about for a long time.  For me, it was especially appealing because of its focus on women’s issues.

Training was about a month and a half of well-organized information and amazing people with an important feminist emphasis.  There was a lot to read and learn but in the end, I felt like I had really been prepared for the kinds of things I might encounter on the crisis line.  I learned facts I didn’t know and a methods of non-judgmental acceptance and support that has been useful in every part of my life outside of the crisis line.  I personally think that everyone should at some point in their life be taught non-judgmental crisis intervention skills the way I learned them at SAVIS.  More than that, I had spent time in a warm, supportive environment with women of all ages and walks of life with a shared passion for women’s rights and issues.

Since then, monthly volunteer meetings offer new information via presentations from different organizations, and on the crisis line I always know I have support from SAVIS workers if I need it.  For me, working at SAVIS means working with and supporting women and men with a complete acceptance of how they feel and what they are going through, and with an underlying understanding of how our society and culture can make their situations more difficult.

SAVIS has introduced me to new ideas and incredible people, taught me valuable skills and important information and both the reality of how sexual assault affects people and how there is always support available for them.  Knowing that the amazing women at SAVIS are always working to offer more and more diversified services so they can help as many people as they can in their region gives me hope for people struggling through times of crisis, and it has been an honour to work with them.”

 Aliya has been a dedicated volunteer on the SAVIS support and crisis line for the last year. Aliya’s passion and commitment comes through in every act of volunteerism that she does. We thank her for all of the hard work that she has contributed so far and we look forward to having her continue being a member of the SAVIS team!