"We are so thankful for our TIP volunteers and how they are able to support and care for, not only the victims we serve, but the officers. You all make our lives easier as we know the victims and their families are in good hands."

-Officer C. Lee
Asheville Police Department

What TIP Volunteers Do

A TIP volunteer is a specially trained person who is called to a scene by emergency services personnel. The TIP volunteer responds within minutes and after a quick briefing, will provide immediate and temporary support until the persons involved in the crisis are able to depend on family members, friends, neighbors, or others. Without the TIP volunteer present, survivors of a tragedy may be left to fend for themselves at a time when they are emotionally traumatized, and least capable of thinking clearly or rationally.

After graduating a 55 hour training academy, TIP volunteers are required to be on call for three twelve hour shifts per month and attend one mandatory continuing education meeting per month. First responders rely on TIP to provide support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Agencies requesting TIP include law enforcement, firefighters, paramedics, and hospital personnel in Buncombe and Henderson Counties and the cities of Asheville and Hendersonville.

People TIP Volunteers Assist
  • Friends and family members of overdose victims
  • Family members of a person who has completed or attempted suicide
  • Family members and friends following an unexpected death
  • Survivors of violent crime including homicide, assault, robbery, or burglary
  • Survivors of fire or other loss of home
  • Disoriented or lonely elderly people
  • Persons involved in motor vehicle accidents
  • Persons who are distraught and seeking immediate support
  • Survivors of natural disasters and public tragedies

Become A Volunteer
Ways TIP Volunteers Assist
  • Providing emotional support to survivors
  • Helping notify other family members and friends
  • Serving as a liaison between the survivors and emergency services or hospital personnel
  • Providing information about and community resources such as funeral homes, counseling, and grief resources

Other Services We Offer
All
Current Services
Future Services
Emotional First Aid Training
TIP offers Emotional First Aid (EFA) training programs to the public on how people, in the role as friend, family member, or neighbor, can effectively support a survivor immediately following a tragic event. Emergency personnel are also offered training in Emotional First Aid and are taught what they can say and do to help distraught people before they leave an emergency scene. TIP EFA seminars are also available and offer continuing education hours. Please contact the Executive Director for more information.
Ask About This
Emotional First Aid Training
Assistance After Mass Tragedies
Our program is nationwide. When a large tragedy strikes a community, TIP is ready to respond. In communities where there is a local TIP chapter, local volunteers will be dispatched to the event.
Assistance After Mass Tragedies
Community Education
Trauma Intervention Programs, Inc. welcomes the opportunity to speak to public and civic organizations. Among the topics we are prepared to cover are:
  • An Overview of TIP and its Functions and Activities
  • What You Can Do in a Time of Crisis Trauma in the Workplace
  • Implementing Emotional Support into a Company Emergency Response Plan
  • Emotional First Aid Skills Training
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Community Education
Workplace Tragedy Programs

Many companies and organizations have employee assistance programs in place. But what do they do when there is the immediate need of support for employees? Do they have someone in place assisting on the scene within 20 minutes? Years of studies have shown that immediate intervention during a tragedy helps mitigate the long term effects of trauma. In the workplace, employees need the time, understanding, and support to react and re-group before returning to work. The safety of the workplace sometimes depends on this. Having TIP training or TIP Services available when you need them may be critical to employee support.

If you or your company does not have an emergency response plan that includes emotional support for its employees, please contact TIP. We can help.

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Workplace Tragedy Programs
Want a TIP affiliate in your community?
We would love to talk with you! Connect with Mandy to learn more.
Connect With Mandy
Want a TIP affiliate in your community?
Peer-to-Peer Training
Being an emergency responder is a demanding, challenging, and an emotionally-draining career. First responders are exposed to the most horrific tragedies daily and are required to remain calm and focused regardless of how the situation affects them — this can sometimes cause unhealthy or absent coping mechanisms that can bleed into their personal life. This training will equip emergency responders with the tools needed to provide effective emotional first aid to their peers (peer-to-peer support), better assist people in crisis and develop self-care rituals, which can lead to a healthier career. Skills taught:
  • Emotional First Aid Skills
  • Practical Support Skills
  • Dealing with Someone in Crisis
  • Death Notification Tips
  • Peer Support
  • Self-Care
  • Follow-Up Resources
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Peer-to-Peer Training
TIP Bilingual Volunteers
TIP of WNC is always seeking bilingual volunteers. If you are bilingual and are interested, please contact us.
Contact Us
TIP Bilingual Volunteers
TIP for Teens

TIP Teens is a program that involves young people (ages 16 - 21) as active volunteers in the Trauma Intervention Program. Involving teens in the local TIP Chapter directly benefits the teens and also enhances the capability of TIP to serve youth who have been traumatized.

How the TIP Chapter Uses Teens:
  • As members of the crisis intervention team who respond to crisis situations where young persons have been emotionally traumatized.
  • As a volunteer with specialized skills, such as being bilingual, who are called out by a TIP volunteer when those skills are needed.
  • As members of the TIP4Kids Team who can establish a special rapport with traumatized children.
  • As a member of the TIP Speakers Bureau who speak about the TIP Program in schools.
  • As "eyes and ears" of the TIP Program in the community. For example, a TIP Teen may deliver helpful materials to a teen who has experienced a traumatic event in a local high school.

TIP Teens report that they use their TIP Skills in other areas of their lives beyond the TIP Program.

Ask About TIP for Teens
TIP for Teens
Ready to Make a Difference in Your Community?
TIP is a unique program making a real difference in the lives of people in our community.
Volunteers serve both emergency responders and people who have just experienced a tragedy. You have an opportunity to provide real help to hurting people on the worst day of their lives.
Trauma Intervention Programs, Inc. is passionate about including all members of the community in our organization regardless of race, color, creed gender, sexual orientation, age, or physical disability. We believe that every member of the community has the potential to advance our mission by becoming involved as a TIP volunteer, a board member, a donor or a staff person. We strive to make staff and volunteer opportunities known and available to all segments of the community and to create an environment where anyone, from any background, can thrive as part of Trauma Intervention Programs, Inc.