Hotline volunteers at the Centre County Women's Resource Center, 118 W. Nittany Ave., assist about 80 phone calls a month from people asking for information and help concerning sexual assaults and domestic violence.

In one of the most recent reports of sexual assault, a 19-year old Penn State student was raped at knifepoint while jogging on the Penn State Blue Golf Course on the evening of July 27.

"We are still following up on various leads and conducting interviews," said investigator Ron Schreffler, Penn State Police Services.

Where police investigations leave off, victims of rape, sexual assault and domestic violence have the center's trained volunteers for support.

The calls the center receives range from information concerning 'protection from abuse orders' to other options for protection or referrals.

"It varies, they may be from a victim of domestic violence or of sexual assault. Some may even be a survivor of a childhood incident," said Liz Wantusiak, volunteer coordinator at the center. "There is no one type of call we get."

The center provides a 24-hour, toll free hotline for people to call and find assistance from a volunteer, McKee said.

"Calls are answered by a human volunteer, not a voice recording," McKee added.

A number of students from Penn State volunteer to man the hotline, McKee said.

"We depend a lot on students from the university," she said.

Volunteers are motivated by a variety of different reasons, McKee said. Some students volunteer for the experience and hands-on-training for their majors in the social services, human services or women's issues.

But for others, volunteering is a more personal matter.

"Some volunteers are victims of violence or domestic violence and want to give back to the community," McKee said.

The center currently has about 70 active volunteers, each receiving 85 hours of training before manning the hotline, she said.

"I just became of aware of the center by word of mouth in the community," said Cristina Colon-Semenza, hotline volunteer at the center who graduated from the center's training last May.

Volunteers have to go through three months of training, meeting two times a week for about three hours in a class of 20 to 25 people, Colon-Semenza said.

The training consists of lectures from different speakers and a mentorship program where volunteers work with a staff member and participate in role-playing activities, she said.

The amount of time put into training helps the volunteers prepare for when they have to handle real life crises over the phone.

"I think that they (volunteers) are incredible," Wantusiak said. "They give a lot of time and energy to the organization."

In the event that the center's volunteers cannot answer a question, however, it is referred to another outlet, Wantusiak said.

At any time, there is someone on the hotline with several volunteers standing by to be called to assist with a person's concern.

"Some times they (victims) don't have the support with them to get through the system," Colon-Semenza said.

Volunteers can act as victims' advocates and help advise them of their rights.

"Running the hotline, you are the coordinator for the situation," Colon-Semenza said. "We don't want any one to go through it without support."

The center's hotline, (877)-234-5050, is a toll free number that does not appear on phone bills, McKee said.