Yoga, hairstyling and sledding.

These are just a few ways to volunteer at the Peace House, a domestic violence shelter designed to help women and children in the Summit and Wasatch Counties.

“Volunteers cater to the needs of the clients who are staying here,” said volunteer coordinator Jessica Wall. “They can be someone who is interested in doing hair style or it can be someone who is interested in taking the kids sledding, or it can be someone who is interested in giving a yoga class.”

Sometimes a volunteer can help with data entry or go grocery shopping, Wall said.

“We have volunteers who lead support groups and run the child care and they do our events and even do some data entry, which is a tremendous help for our executive director and staff.

“There is a broad range of things volunteers can do,” she said. “As long as the volunteers are willing to go through the right processes, we’re open to their ideas.”

Anyone interested in becoming a Peace House volunteer needs to contact Wall, who also provides resources such as job, school and housing referrals to the Peace House clients.

“We also have an application they can fill out online,” she said. “When I meet with them, I try and see what it is that they are interested in doing.”

Wall learns why a person wants to volunteer, what skills they have and what they want to share with the women and children in the shelter.

“I also see if they have any past volunteer experiences,” she said. “It helps give me an idea of what they’ve done in the past and what they are capable of doing. I also ask what kind of schooling they have completed.”

Some volunteers, who work directly with the shelter’s clients, need to take classes regarding domestic violence.

“We also have to conduct background checks, which is required through the state, and make sure some are CPR certified,” Wall said. “Also, everyone has to sign a confidentiality waiver.”

While there are logistical challenges coordinating volunteers’ and clients’ schedules, Wall said, many times the staff feels the emotional challenges.

“We’re dealing with life changes,” she said. “People are coming from all different areas. They’re dealing with being an only parent, or they had to leave their jobs and homes and their children have had to leave school.

“They are experiencing loss of some things another person may take for granted,” Wall said. “Even something as simple as not having their own pillow can be hard on the emotions.”

Still, working with the Peace House volunteers makes any emotional burden worthwhile.

“I’ve met so many neat people,” said Wall, who has been the volunteer coordinator for two years. “Park City is such a giving community. I have volunteers whose ages range from 14 years old to adults. We’ve had wonderful men and women who have helped us out with things.”

In fact, Wall started as a Peace House volunteer five years ago.

“I was volunteering at St. Mary’s Food bank and one of the original board members of Peace House was working there and told me about it,” she said. “I dropped off a donation and asked for application and have been here ever since.”

The Peace House was established in 1995, after community leaders formed the Domestic Peace Task Force, Wall said. “We’re licensed to house up to 15 women and children and 2 infants, and we’re staffed 24 hours a day; seven days a week.”

In addition, Peace House also has education programs and a support and outreach programs.

“We work with at-risk families to avoid a domestic violence crisis,” Wall said. “We also have a bilingual program that provides education, support groups and direct intervention and case management.”

For information of becoming a Peace House volunteer, contact Jessica Wall at (435) 647-9161 or vist www.peacehouse.org.