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All About Being a Volunteer

Qualifications

Men and women volunteers must be at least twenty-one (21) years of age to work with the Department of Corrections. You will always be matched with an inmate of the same gender. You must have your own reliable transportation.

Personal qualities required: dependability (your inmate will count on you for regular visits), self-motivation, good character, compassion, patience, non-judgmental attitude, honesty, and a willingness to be a good friend.

Responsibilities

Being a Friend: Befriending, guiding and listening to the inmate, as well as writing them at least once a month. Our volunteers form the backbone of our organization. Your purpose is to serve as a friend and role model who will help an inmate change the lifestyle and attitudes that put them in prison.

Time Commitment: ASK Volunteers pledge to visit and write an adult offender at least once each month for a minimum of one year. You are certainly encouraged to visit and write more frequently if you desire to do so and your time permits you to.

Release: The match process helps your inmate friend to prepare for parole. The ASK Volunteer helps ensure the likelihood of parole success by learning the inmate's plans, then assisting with guidance and referrals, (available from your director), whenever possible. Hopefully, your friendship will provide the inmate with a bridge from prison into mainstream society.

Communication: You will work closely with your ASK program coordinator in all phases of the match and provide up-to-date information of changes, progress, parole plans and other major developments in the inmate's life. Reporting your visit to your ASK coordinator after each visit is important, providing an opportunity for you to make suggestions and address concerns to the ASK Staff.

Training

Along with an initial orientation/training session, we provide a manual as a tool you can refer back to periodically, and add to as specific changes are documented in writing. Occasionally there will be a group meeting to attend and you will receive a periodical newsletter, the "Volunteer Voice", which will keep you informed of any changes or developments affecting the organization or the prison facility.

Benefits

As with most labors of love, there are no monetary rewards. Instead, you will receive gratification that money can't buy: friendship, personal growth and fulfillment, broadened horizons, better understanding of the incarcerated, and the opportunity to positively influence another person's life.