Helping Victims of Crime

Al Lenhardt, President and CEO

National Crime Victims’ Rights Week (NCVRW) is April 22-28, 2007. Presented by the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), this year’s theme will be Victims’ Rights: Every Victim. Every Time. This message pays tribute to crime victims and survivors who join together in mutual support and advocacy to promote victims’ rights and services. It also recognizes the ongoing efforts of countless victim service providers, justice professionals, and other professionals and volunteers who dedicate their lives to helping crime victims.

I urge you to use National Crime Victims’ Rights Week as a time to reflect on, remember, and recommit your efforts to help crime victims, survivors, and all who serve them. NCVRW raises the awareness of individuals and the public about the rights and needs of crime victims, the challenges victims face in seeking help and hope in the aftermath of crime, and the positive impact that individuals and communities can have by providing services and support to victims and survivors of crime. 

At the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), we believe the justice process should address the broken relationships that occur when a crime has been committed—those relationships between victims and offenders and the larger community. 

NCPC and the National Center for Victims of Crime partner in the Youth Outreach for Victim Assistance (YOVA) project. YOVA addresses the problem of teen victimization by teaching youth about victimization and the services that can support teen victims of crime and by providing resources to victim service providers so they can better reach and serve teen victims. Schools, victim service providers, faith-based groups, and community youth centers from across the United States have served as YOVA sites to create those campaigns. YOVA is in its third year and its past work includes

• Participation in the program by more than 1,000 youth and adults
• Reaching an estimated 30,000 people through presentations, community summits, and other awareness events
• Providing training to 250 youth and adult representatives from 60 YOVA sites
• Providing the publication Reaching and Serving Teen Victims and a YOVA webinar on supporting teen victims to more than 3,700 youth service providers

For more information on crime victims, visit www.ovc.gov. For more information on YOVA, contact Joselle Shea at 202-261-4111 or jshea@ncpc.org.