Some of us remember when drunk driving was a traffic offense, not a crime. Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone With the Wind, was killed by a drunk driver who never spent a night in jail. We remember when a burglary victim was your We told, “Tough luck! Keep door locked next time.” remember when parents of a rape victim prayed for her forgiveness rather than calling the police. All too recently, if criminals or juvenile delinquents paid a price for their crimes, it went to the state rather than to direct restitution to the victim. Younger professionals and volunteers in our crime victim assistance field find it hard to Nation’s believe the stories of injustices that their elders tell. Reminiscing about our a bad history isn’t thing, but our task now is to recognize and work together to mitigate the weaknesses in our systems of justice and victim service delivery today. We look to the past, not simply with respect, but to gain clarity about who we can become. Thirty years from now, we want new victim assistance professionals and volunteers to look back to our day in 2014 and find our – – stories hard to believe. The to the Hebrews that the desert of their lives would bloom again was not prophets’ promise only a promise of what God was going to do. It was also a call to action. We can easily become discouraged. So much resistance and indifference can become depressing. But that moment of despair is precisely when we hear a Word from beyond ourselves. We will never completely realize the vision, but we consistently move toward it. Guided by the vision, our work in crime victim assistance and community safety is never a “job.” It is a calling. Spiritually-sensitive Caregiving An excellent book that highlights key aspects of six faiths Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, – Islam, Judaism and Native American culture is Spiritually Sensitive Caregiving: A Multifaith – Handbook. Co-authored by four respected national victim advocates, this book describes each and rituals, death issues and justice-related issues. It can be ordered from faith’s ritual beliefs Amazon at . For More Information Please contact National Crime Community Awareness Project Consultant Victims’ Rights Week Anne Seymour via email at ; or by telephone at 202.547.1732.
Some of us remember when drunk driving was a traffic offense, not a crime. Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone With the Wind, was killed by a drunk driver who never spent a night in jail. We remember when a burglary victim was told, “Tough luck! Keep your door locked next time.” We remember when parents of a rape victim prayed for her forgiveness rather than calling the police. All too recently, if criminals or juvenile delinquents paid a price for their crimes, it went to the state rather than to direct restitution to the victim. Younger professionals and volunteers in our Nation’s crime victim assistance field find it hard to believe the stories of injustices that their elders tell. Reminiscing about our history isn’t a bad thing, but our task now is to recognize and work together to mitigate the weaknesses in our systems of justice and victim service delivery today. We look to the past, not simply with respect, but to gain clarity about who we can become. Thirty years from now, we want new victim assistance professionals and volunteers to look back to our day – in 2014 – and find our stories hard to believe. The prophets’ promise to the Hebrews that the desert of their lives would bloom again was not only a promise of what God was going to do. It was also a call to action. We can easily become discouraged. So much resistance and indifference can become depressing. But that moment of despair is precisely when we hear a Word from beyond ourselves. We will never completely realize the vision, but we consistently move toward it. Guided by the vision, our work in crime victim assistance and community safety is never a “job.” It is a calling. Spiritually-sensitive Caregiving An excellent book that highlights key aspects of six faiths – Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Native American culture – is Spiritually Sensitive Caregiving: A Multifaith Handbook. Co-authored by four respected national victim advocates, this book describes each faith’s ritual beliefs and rituals, death issues and justice-related issues. It can be ordered from Amazon at . For More Information Please contact National Crime Victims’ Rights Week Community Awareness Project Consultant Anne Seymour via email at ; or by telephone at 202.547.1732.
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