Public and Private Agencies Help People Put Their Lives
Back Together
Sept. 9, 1999
By Joan Lippert
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| Eric Feinblatt |
| A New York Victim Services shelter blends
indistinguishably into the neighborhood. |
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WASHINGTON
(APBnews.com) -- In the not-too-distant past, victims of rape,
robbery, domestic abuse and other violent crime were often sent home
to cry and to recover as best they could. Whereas there were only 23
"victim services" programs across the country in 1975, today some
10,000 organizations offer an unprecedented amount of help.
For example, domestic violence victims can find a safe place to
stay the night for free; someone being stalked can get bus fare to
another state; and rape victims can access low-cost counseling.
"In addition to the increase in the number of crime victim
programs available and a greater sensitivity to the needs of
victims, there is an increased focus in improving the quality of
services that victims receive," said Carolyn Hightower, deputy
director of the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) in Washington.
Fair treatment for crime
victims
The Justice Department founded this office in 1983 to support
victim assistance and compensation programs, and to advocate fair
treatment for crime victims. For more than a decade now, the OVC has
distributed money to victim programs. This money comes not from tax
dollars, but from forfeited bail bonds, penalties, special
assessments and fines that judges require criminals who have
committed federal offenses to pay.
The OVC passed along $363.5 million in 1998 and has given nearly
$3 billion since 1986. About half of the remainder is allocated to
victim assistance programs, such as domestic violence shelters and
rape treatment centers that provide crisis intervention, counseling,
shelter, court help and emergency transportation. The other half is
awarded to state crime victim compensation programs, covering such
things as medical costs, mental health counseling, funeral and
burial costs, and lost wages or loss of support.
And it can make quite a difference. For instance:
- New York's Victim Services Child Counseling Program
accompanied a 13-year-old girl to court, where she testified
against two boys her age who had attacked and robbed her. The girl
said she felt proud of herself for participating in the court
process, and program workers awarded her a certificate of merit.
- Ohio counselor Darcy Desatnik frequently will put her arm
around the shoulders of residents in her shelter. "I tell them
they're strong, capable women ... that they're survivors, or else
they wouldn't be here. Not too many people tell them that, but
it's true." The human touch, more than anything else, is what can
help victims rebuild their lives. Whether for a quick fix or
long-term help, victim service groups put people who have been
hurt in touch with people who can help.
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| Eric Feinblatt |
| Residents at New York Victim Services find quiet
havens from domestic violence. |
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Hard to find -- on
purpose
Imagine a woman whose live-in partner is threatening her with a
kitchen knife. She needs somewhere else to go -- fast. But looking
up "women's shelters" in the Yellow Pages is not going to yield
anything, and for good reason: They're supposed to be hard to find.
"Our phone number is unlisted, and we use a post office box as our
address," said Desatnik, a drug and alcohol prevention specialist
with Women Together, a shelter in Cleveland that serves 500
inner-city women a year.
Many access the victim service system by calling the information
operator and explaining the situation; oftentimes, they are given
hot line numbers for local victim services programs that can help.
"Another option is the National Domestic Violence Hotline, which
makes local referrals," said Desatnik. The police also make
referrals, as do hospital employees. "We got a call late one night
from a hospital social worker," Desatnik said. "She sent over a
woman whose boyfriend had hit her across the face with a chair."
(The woman stayed a couple of months, then found a job and a small
house.)
For non-emergency situations, it's possible to find victim
services phone numbers in a surprising number of places. "We put our
hot line number in hospital ladies' rooms, schools, wherever we
can," Desatnik said. In New York City -- home of the country's
largest direct-services agency for crime victims, serving more than
130,000 a year -- numbers are easy to spot in the subway and are
broadcast on radio and TV.
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| Eric Feinblatt |
| Woman in her shelter bedroom. |
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Help for the long
haul
Victim-service phone numbers can connect those in need with
longer-term help as well, such as counseling, support groups, high
school equivalency programs, job training, financial compensation
opportunities and prevention programs. New York's Victim Services
hot line takes what they call a "What do you need?" approach, and
refers callers if necessary to hot lines for domestic violence,
elder abuse, rape, sexual assault and incest, or other services.
The Internet is another resource that can put victims in touch
with "the lifeline services that help victims to heal," as the OVC
homepage promises. At its most advanced, victim services encompass
such new technologies as automated systems that notify victims of an
offender's prison status and when the offender is due for release.
Hearing-impaired victims can use a TDD line.
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