By Linnea Borland

Victim advocate at the Crime Victims Resource Center

April 2nd to 8th is National Crime Victims’ Rights week. This week of awareness seeks to bring an expansive understanding of justice. Widespread and fundamental justice in our communities must include victim-centered, trauma-informed, and culturally competent services for all victims of crime. Crime Victims Resource Center uses these crucial points to guide our comprehensive services to all victims of crime. Through advocacy for the victim, education, crisis intervention, and support, we seek to empower victims, and give them back the strength that may have been taken away as a victim of a crime.

The theme for 2017 — Strength. Resilience. Justice. — reflects our vision of the future. One in which all victims are strengthened by the response they receive, organizations are resilient in response to challenges, and communities are able to seek collective justice and healing. This theme highlights the need for multiple avenues of victim support. It also acknowledges two truths: that justice reaches outside the courtroom, and that the strength and resilience of our communities depend on confidence in our justice system. For every victim, the definition of what justice means to them has the potential to vary across many systemic perspectives. Having this basic understanding will aid all providers in understanding a victim’s goals and how best to support their victims.

We can support healthy individuals, capable service providers, and productive communities throughout the Nation and in our community by working together to address the needs of vulnerable populations and to normalize the provision of specialized services to reach them. At Crime Victims Resource Center, we are doing just that. By hiring a bilingual victim/outreach advocate, we are dedicated to creating awareness of our services to underserved victims. Building these strong relationships within the community to a variety of vulnerable and underserved populations is fundamental in strengthening our community response to victim support.

So please join Crime Victims Resource Center, Office for Victims of Crime and communities across the country in raising awareness of victims’ rights and services, highlighting our local programs, celebrating progress achieved, and honoring victims and the professionals who serve them.

Interested in more information and how you can make a difference in our community? If you are interested in ways that you can work with Crime Victims Resource Center, and help raise awareness of our program and assist victims of crime, please contact us at 507-437-6680. Thank you for your commitment to victims in our community.