text: “Why didn’t you tell someone sooner?” Survivors of child sexual abuse and family violence hear this question all too often.
  In the News
  With the House vote Friday, the Florida Legislature has passed its most expansive justice reform bill in 20 years, an initiative led by the state’s crime surivors, many of whom rallied in Tallahassee this session to call for change.
  A new, and sobering, report released last month reveals that four in 10 Texans have been a victim of crime in the past 10 years, with many experiencing trauma, stress, anxiety and fear as a result. The report from the Alliance for Safety and Justice further shows that seven in 10 violent crime victims have been victims more than once, and that nine in 10 Texas crime victims do not receive support from the state’s victim compensation program that could help them recover.
  As a survivor of the 1992 murder of my two daughters, mother, sister, niece and nephew, I have spent much time thinking about what could have prevented the murders of my family over the past 27 years. While the man who did this was convicted and ultimately executed, I am committed to helping prevent these kinds of tragedies by ensuring the use of proactive safety solutions.
  If Gov. Ron DeSantis signs Florida’s criminal justice reform bill into law soon, it will mean the voices of citizens like Darla and Elliott Saunders are starting to matter more than the voices of politicians like Mike Hill. Hill was the lone dissenting voice in the state House against a bill aimed at reducing recidivism and pulling back some of the harsher penalties against low-level, nonviolent crimes. He criticized the bill’s bundling and feared it would send a message Florida is getting too soft on crime.
  Florida crime survivors marched and rallied at the State Capitol on Tuesday, hoping to influence policy change.
  Around 200 crime victims will show up at the Florida State Capitol for a day of sharing their stories and for a day of action on Tuesday.
  A community in mourning came together in Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood to honor the victims of gun violence and show support for those who have lost loved ones.
  In our work with crime survivors in California, we have encountered countless small nonprofits working on the frontlines of violence in their communities. Often started by a victim of crime, these grassroots groups know their target populations intimately, as well as their risk factors and needs. Even small investments in their work will have a …