Since 1974, Shanti's Peer Support Volunteers have been offering up their time to provide practical and emotional support to our clients living with life threatening illnesses. The Volunteers of the Peer Support Program spend time with clients who are living with breast cancer or HIV/AIDS and make it possible for them to continue to live independently. This may include doing chores, running errands, or providing companionship. It’s a mix of practical and emotional support.

For this program, we ask for a commitment of 2 to 6 hours a week for at least 6 months. We also ask all volunteers to attend a support group once a month. The 2-6 hours can be done according to volunteer’s schedules—a lot of our volunteers visit their clients on weekends or evenings—so it’s definitely flexible.

If you decide to enroll in the Peer Support Program there is a mandatory volunteer training. Each interested volunteer must attend ALL of the training dates listed below…

    Friday, January 27^th
                6 - 9:30pm
    Saturday, January 28^th
               9am - 5:30pm
    Sunday, January 29^th
                9am - 5:30pm
    Wednesday, February 1^st
                 6 - 9:30pm

The purpose of this training is to prepare volunteers to work with individuals living with a life-threatening illness. The training will supply information about breast cancer and HIV/AIDS as well as teach communication and listening skills through a variety of interactive exercises.

About a month before the training weekend, we will contact you to schedule a pre-training interview. The interview will give us the chance to get to know each other and will give you an opportunity to learn about Shanti and the different services we provide to our clients.

To learn more about the program and to sign-up, please contact Volunteer Services at volunteerservices@shanti.org