San Diego County CA—Trauma Intervention Programs of San Diego welcomes its newest staff member, Andrea Barkley, as Crisis Team Manager. A Valley Center resident with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Barkley joins the management team to help volunteers continue their mission to provide emotional first aid to survivors of tragedy in order to ease their immediate suffering and facilitate their healing and long-term recovery.
Previously serving as an Ombudsman for the US Navy and volunteering with organizations such as RAINN, Relay for Life and The Elizabeth Hospice, Barkley found the work of TIP in a distinctive way after losing her brother to suicide. “I wanted to find a way to give back,” says Barkley, “I found out that TIP had actually been called out to my brother’s home when he died. So I feel as if things have come full circle in a way.”
Since joining TIP as a volunteer, Barkley has been a consummate volunteer. “I love the human connection that gets made when going on a call. We get the privilege of entering someone’s home on the worst day of their life and provide emotional support and resources to them. Just knowing that we made a very small difference in their life and helped them in anyway is so amazingly rewarding to me. I never ever take it for granted.”
Executive Director Sher DeWeese is delighted to have Barkley as part of the staff, “We are thrilled to have Andrea join our staff as a Crisis Team Manager. She has the energy, drive and passion to lead our volunteers, as well as the commitment and dedication to TIP’s mission to support our communities.”
Part of Barkley’s goals as Crisis Team Manager is to retain the amazing volunteers currently serving in San Diego County and also gain new volunteers that have the need to serve and feel TIP is the right fit. “I feel as if TIP coming into my life the way it did has brought my childhood plans of helping people, as well as giving back after my brother’s suicide, into fruition. It has completed a part of me and I am so honored to be a part of an amazing organization filled with wonderful volunteers.”
For information on becoming a volunteer: http://www.tipsandiego.org/become_volunteer.htm.
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May | East County
October | North County Inland
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