Everytown SurvivorsConnect Volunteer Roles

Everytown SurvivorsConnect Leadership Application

The Everytown Survivor Network annually invites volunteers to apply for Everytown SurvivorsConnect Volunteer Leadership Roles. As a national Everytown SurvivorsConnect Volunteer Leader, you will have the opportunity to impart your knowledge, motivate, and use active listening skills to help support survivors who would like emotional support. All Everytown SurvivorsConnect volunteer roles are a one-year commitment.

Everytown SurvivorsConnect is a peer support program that connects gun violence survivors with other survivors who offer emotional support, mentorship, information and referrals to community resources. Everytown SurvivorsConnect offers a calming experience for survivors as they cope with the consequences of gun violence. Many gun violence survivors express that meeting and connecting with other survivors through the Everytown Survivor Network and Moms Demand Action has been a positive and often healing experience. We know that recovering from grief or trauma is not a linear process. It’s always good to know you have a person who understands your perspective and can offer comfort. This is the reason that, four years ago, the Everytown Survivor Network launched Everytown SurvivorsConnect, a program to connect gun violence survivors with other survivors who offer emotional support, information and referral, as well as mentorship around advocacy.

“I am grateful to have benefited from the curriculum offered by the Everytown SurvivorsConnect support group program and I want other survivors to benefit as well.”

Tisa Whack

The Everytown SurvivorsConnect program offers multiple ways for Everytown SurvivorsConnect Leaders to support survivors. Read more about the two types of leadership roles within the Everytown SurvivorsConnect program below.

Volunteer Roles 

Everytown SurvivorsConnect 1-1 Mentor

Everytown SurvivorsConnect 1-1 mentors are gun violence survivors who offer one-on-one emotional support, mentorship, and referrals to external services, as appropriate, to other survivors of gun violence in a one-on-one setting. The goal is to connect these leaders with survivors who have had a similar gun violence experience (for example, a bereaved mother may seek to connect with another bereaved mother, or a person who has experienced domestic violence with a gun may be interested in connecting with someone else who has also survived domestic violence). You are in regular contact with the survivors you are paired with. These leaders receive a basic training curriculum designed to be as comprehensive and efficient as possible; ongoing training efforts are essential as Everytown SurvivorsConnect Leaders build their skills and learn how to best conduct support. Everytown SurvivorsConnect 1-1 Mentors must have a personal experience as a gun violence survivor. See if you qualify.

Everytown SurvivorsConnect Support Group Peer Facilitator

Everytown SurvivorsConnect Peer Support Group Facilitators are survivors who are trained to co-facilitate our grief and trauma support groups and have a shared experience of gun violence with the attendees. Support group facilitators utilize their shared experiences to offer support and healthy coping strategies, and a space where survivors of gun violence can process grief and heal. Also, co-facilitators will work with other co-facilitators that provide support by way of additional input in the planning and facilitating process to ensure all attendees receive the best possible experience of love, compassion, understanding, and connection. Support group facilitators must have a personal experience with gun violence in order to be a peer in this role. See if you qualify.

I know one of the most powerful moments for me after my daughter died was meeting other survivors who understood what I’d been through. This is what Everytown SurvivorsConnect offers.

Fred Feibusch

Programs Qualification and Requirements

You must be over the age of 18 to apply for all the volunteer positions with Everytown SurvivorsConnect.

Everytown SurvivorsConnect 1-1 Mentor

These leaders receive a basic training curriculum designed to be as comprehensive and efficient as possible; ongoing training efforts are essential as Everytown SurvivorsConnect Mentors build their skills and learn how to best conduct support.

Training commitment: 6 hours of training 

• Peer Support: What It Is, What It Isn’t
• Understanding Trauma and Grief
• Establishing Working Relationships
• Culture and Trauma
• Linkages to Community Resources
• Everytown SurvivorsConnect Best Practices

Time commitment: Depends upon the number of peer mentees, but can be a minimum of 4 hours per month. 

Role Commitment: 1 year

Requirements: Everytown SurvivorsConnect 1-1 Mentors must have a personal experience as a gun violence survivor. You must have a strong self-care plan and support network that enables you to help support other survivors while prioritizing your own self-care and well being. 

The three training dates will be: Saturday, September 6, 2025, Saturday, September 20, 2025, and Tuesday, September 23, 2025. 

Everytown SurvivorsConnect Support Group Peer Facilitator

Training commitment: 8 hours of training. Training for this role consists of most of the Everytown SurvivorsConnect Leader core curriculum, as well as an additional three hours of training that creates general competencies and includes:

• Support Group Fundamentals
• Facilitation Skills
• Curriculum Implementation

Time commitment:  17 hours per year (approximately 2 hours per week over the course of 8 weeks). Our support groups are held three times per year. Facilitators must commit to at least one support group session (for 8 weeks) but can do more.  

Role Commitment: 1 year 

Requirements: Everytown SurvivorsConnect group facilitators must have a personal experience as a gun violence survivor. You must have a strong self-care plan and support network that enables you to help support other survivors while prioritizing your own self-care and well being. 

The three training dates will be: Saturday, September 6, 2025, Saturday, September 20, 2025, and Tuesday, September 23, 2025. 

I have truly enjoyed my time and experience with the Everytown Survivor Network while continuing to heal, learn from others, being an active listener, and applying the resources obtained and learned in my everyday experience.

Mary Snipes

Application Process

Applications are now open through August 23, 2025.

If you apply, Everytown Survivor Network staff will reach out to schedule a 30-minute interview with you. The interview will give us an opportunity to answer any questions you have about the program and/or volunteer roles, as well as a chance for us to ask any clarifying questions we may have. If you are selected to fill one of these roles, you will be required to fill out the Everytown Volunteer Agreement.

As a reminder, the three training dates for either 1:1 peer mentorship and support group facilitation will be: Saturday, September 6, 2025, Saturday, September 20, 2025, and Tuesday, September 23, 2025. 

Thank you for your interest in the Everytown SurvivorsConnect Program!

Important Note

Volunteers do not provide medical, legal, or financial advice. The volunteer’s role is limited to providing emotional support and guidance for identifying resources to meet their peer’s needs. The program does not serve as a replacement for professional emotional counseling or victims services.