To the Editor:

The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) helps lead communities throughout the country in their annual observances of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week (NCVRW) every April by promoting victims’ rights, and honoring crime victims and those who advocate on their behalf.

This year’s National Crime Victims’ Rights Week is April 10-16, and the theme—Serving Victims. Building Trust. Restoring Hope.—presents the opportunity to highlight the importance of providing needed services at the earliest stage of victimization. Early intervention helps prevent both further victimization and involvement in the criminal justice system, thus addressing the cycle of violence and restoring hope for the future.

National Crime Victims’ Rights Week honors and celebrates the achievements of the past thirty years in securing rights, protections, and services for victims. The bipartisan Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), passed by Congress in 1984, created a national fund to ease victims’ suffering. Financed by fines and penalties paid by offenders, the Crime Victims Fund supports services for victims of all types of crime, including assistance for rape crisis centers and domestic violence programs, in which Renewal House receives such funding for victims in St. Lawrence County.

VOCA also funds victim compensation programs that pay victims’ out-of-pocket expenses such as counseling, funeral expenses, and lost wages. “If victims are to trust that the criminal justice system will work for them, we must meet them where they are—physically, culturally, and emotionally,” said Joye E. Frost, Director, Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), U.S. Department of Justice.

“When we take the time to focus on the victim in the aftermath of crime—to address their needs for safety and justice—we can begin to build trust and restore the hope of those victims and their communities. We all play a role in helping victims as they rebuild their lives.”

It is the mission at Renewal House to respond immediately to the needs of victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in St. Lawrence County through services which empower victims and increase community awareness.

Renewal House provides crisis intervention, individual and group counseling, personal and legal advocacy, information and referrals, safe housing, community education and awareness, and oversees the sexual assault nurse examiner program. Our services are free and confidential. Last year, Renewal House provided services to 840 victims and reached 4,832 individuals during 140 community and school-based presentations.

For more information on how to assist victims in St. Lawrence County call 379-9845.

Ilene J Burke, Executive Director

Renewal House, Canton