Aylin Potthoff volunteers as a Forensic Accompaniment Officer with CARI.
Tell us a bit about yourself?
I’m 29, originally from Germany. I have been living in Galway since 2008
Tell us a bit about yourself
I moved here with my family, mother and younger siblings. I study
psychology part time, while working full time for Apple. My goal is to
do a PhD in neuropsychology. My hobbies are reading, traveling and
spending time with my pets. I love scuba diving. I recently completed my
open water diver certification
When did you start volunteering ?
I started volunteering in 2018
Why did you start to volunteer?
I heard about the great work CARI does and when I saw that they were looking for volunteers I just had to get involved. I want to work in the same field when I am done with my studies.
What role are you currently volunteering in and can you tell us about it, what are your duties, hours, training, how long you’ve been doing it etc
I am a forensic accompaniment officer. I accompany children and their care takers to the sexual assault unit if there is the believe that a child has been assaulted. I am on call at least once a week. Hours are either From 8 am til 4 pm or 4pm til 8 am. The kids range from 0 to 14 years. I am there to answer any questions the family might have. I spend time with the child while the history is given to the medical team. I’ve been doing this for over a year now. Training involved full training days over several weekends as well as continuous training in child protection etc.
What is the best thing about volunteering in your own opinion?
Giving people the support that is so desperately needed in hard times like this. Knowing that they are not alone is the best thing.
What would you say to someone who was thinking about starting volunteer work?
Do it ! There are so many opportunities to volunteer no matter what cause you want to support. If everyone would volunteer some of their time, we would live in a much better world!