First Parish in Concord

Domestic Violence Services Network (DVSN)

DVSN  includes the Domestic Violence Victim Assistance Program (DVVAP) as their primary service program for domestic violence. DVVAP is a community collaboration that works to end the cycle of domestic violence by training volunteers to provide support, advocacy, and options to victims. Founded in 1998 the program is sponsored jointly by a Citizen's Council and the Police Departments of seven towns served by the Concord District Court (Acton, Bedford, Carlisle, Concord, Lincoln, Maynard and Stow).

A number of First Parish members serve as advocates or are on the Citizens Council. We also support DVVAP through our annual grants program. Contact John Lowe at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information.

Program Needs: Volunteer advocates to provide early crisis intervention and support, which may include assisting victims in creating safety plans, providing information and referrals to community resources, and meeting with them personally at a safe place to complete applications for civil restraining orders.

Commitment: Each volunteer advocate must complete a screening process, which includes a background check, and a 35-hour training program, before working with victims. Upon graduation from training, each volunteer advocate is asked to make a minimum service commitment of two on-call shifts per month for six months. Shifts are 3, 4, 6 or 8 hours long. Each advocate is supervised and supported by a Program Co-director and volunteer "back-ups" and is asked to attend a minimum of one three-hour in-service workshop every six months for continuing education. A volunteer-based DVVAP newsletter is distributed quarterly to keep all advocates informed of new developments, resources, and changes in domestic violence laws and systems.

Training programs are held 2-3 times per year in approximately February, June, and October. For more information about advocate training, contact the DVSN office 978-318-3421. Or visit the DVSN website, http://www.dvsn.org.

Contact: Jacquelin Apsler, DVSN Executive Director, at 978-318-3421 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  
03/05