Teams provide service in the Emergency Department from 5pm until 11pm, Wednesday through Sunday. Each participant commits to one shift every two weeks and are not required to attend shifts during scheduled school vacations or exam times. Students can expect to attend approximately 10-12 shifts from September through April. For the most part, our students found this to be extremely manageable in light of the first year law school schedule. This is NOT a semester-long program. Participation for the entire academic year is required. Students may qualify for independent study, work study or transcript notation at their respective law schools and should discuss this with staff as soon as possible if interested.
IMPORTANT PROGRAM DATESInterviewer Advocate
Participating students work in teams of 3-4 Interviewer Advocates (IAs) and are supervised by a more experienced student advocate called a Team Leader (TL). IAs are primarily responsible for interviewing all women admitted to the Emergency Department about their thoughts on partner violence and their opinions about the effectiveness of abuse prevention services. As they gain experience, IAs support their Team Leader in providing abuse prevention legal advocacy services to women and men identified as victims of domestic violence. During each shift at the hospital, there will be specialized training in various areas of domestic violence advocacy and IAs may have the opportunity to become involved in other projects of the Domestic Violence Institute.
While previous domestic violence experience is not required to become an Interviewer Advocate, students should have an interest in community service and violence prevention. Prior experience may be a factor in selection for the program if the applicant pool is too large.
Team Leader
Team Leaders (TLs) supervise a team of 3-4 Interviewer Advocates (IAs) during the team's shift at the Boston Medical Center. In their role as team supervisors, the TL oversees nightly shifts, provides ongoing trainings to their Interviewer Advocates, gives feedback and support to the IA and works in close collaboration with hospital staff. TLs are also responsible for providing abuse prevention legal advocacy services to victims of violence who may be identified during their shifts at the ED. Advocacy services include safety planning, shelter placement, obtaining emergency restraining orders, appropriate referrals and providing assistance in dealing with the police on criminal matters.
Team Leader applicants must have experience or expertise in domestic violence work. Students selected as Team Leaders also commit to a classroom meeting at the DVI office one evening every other week as well as individual supervision with either the Executive Director or Clinical Law Fellow. Because being a TL requires a greater time commitment than that expected of IAs, students with DV experience may choose to be an IA or DA rather than a TL. If you are unsure whether you wish to be, or qualify as a TL or DA, we encourage you to apply for all positions.
Daytime Advocate
The Daytime Advocate (DA) is an emerging advocate position that permits an experienced student who is unable to make the evening commitment of a Team Leader still participate in the Boston Medical Center Project. The DA works shifts at the hospital during the day to conduct interviews, provide service, follow-up with issues from the evening shifts and with general administrative duties. DA applicants must have some experience with domestic violence work. Students selected as Daytime Advocates also commit to a classroom meeting at the DVI office one evening every other week as well as individual supervision with either the Executive Director or Clinical Law Fellow.