The coalition of local Victim Assistance agencies (Albion Fellows Bacon Center, Holly’s House, YWCA, Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office, Lampion Center) has received funding from the National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators (NAVAA) through a grant from the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), within the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, to promote community awareness of crime victims’ rights and services during the 2015 National Crime Victim’s Rights week.
The week of April 19-25, 2015, is National Crime Victim’s Rights Week (NCVRW). This annual observance, first designated by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, seeks to increase general public awareness of, and knowledge about the wide range of rights and services available to people who have been victimized by crime. The theme for the 2015 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week is “Engaging Communities. Empowering Victims.â€
Since 2004, the NCVRW Community Awareness Project has provided financial and technical assistance to more than 720 community projects that promote victim and public awareness activities, and innovative approaches to victim outreach and public education about victims’ rights and services during NCVRW. Vanderburgh County was one of the 90 projects recommended by the National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators and selected for funding by OVC for 2015 from the 194 applications that were submitted nationwide.
According to OVC Director Joye Frost, the Community Awareness Project helps generate widespread public awareness of crime victims’ rights and needs, and the importance of engaging all people in America in victim assistance efforts.
According to Ms. Frost, “This year’s National Crime Victims’ Rights Week theme reminds us of the importance to create a victim response system that is open and accessible to all survivors and victims of crime.†“It is very important that we build partnerships throughout our communities to better address all victims’ needs by believing them and offering support and resources regardless of where they disclose their victimization. Everybody plays a role.†Frost said.
According to Molly Elfreich, the Community Awareness that will be sponsored in Vanderburgh County will be informational tables at the Vanderburgh County Civic Center during the week of April through the 25th. The committee will also be distributing information and resources during this week to local businesses and agencies if needed. Local victim assistance agencies will be promoting not only National Crime Victim’s Rights Week but the rights of victims at all times.
“The support from the NAVAA and OVC for our 2015 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week activities will help us help crime victims.†Elfreich said. “Members of our community are encouraged to help promote justice through service to crime victims by joining or 2015 National Crime Victim’s Rights Week activities and supporting victim assistance programs throughout the year.â€
For additional information about 2015 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week activities or about victims’ rights and services in Vanderburgh County, please contact Kyle Phernetton with the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office at 812-435-5688 or visit www.speakuptristate.org. For more information about national efforts to promote 2015 national Crime Victims’ Rights week, please visit the office for Victims of Crime website at http://www.ovc.gov
The National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators is a non-profit organization that represents the 56 state agencies that distributes money from the federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Crime Victims Fund to more than 4,000 direct victim assistance service providers. The money in the Crime Victims Fund comes from fines collected from offenders convicted of federal crimes and not from U.S. Taxpayers.
