Overview
The National Center for Victims of
Crime is the nation's leading resource and advocacy organization working on behalf of
crime victims. Since our inception in 1985, we have worked in partnership with thousands
of service providers and criminal justice agencies throughout the country to help victims
of crime rebuild their lives.
We work in five major program areas:
- providing direct services to victims
through our toll free Helpline, 1-800-FYI-CALL;
- educating the public through our
website, www.NCVC.org, and a host of publications;
- advocating for public policy
initiatives creating rights and resources for victims;
- promoting civil justice as an option
for crime victims;
- and mounting innovative demonstration
projects to test new approaches to serving victims.
Following the events of September
11, the National Center mobilized its resources to respond to the needs of the victims of
the terrorist attacks. Since that time, we have served as the national hub for a network
of social service providers, victim advocates, attorneys, and government leaders to
promote policies and interventions that will help the victims of these crimes.
Most important, we are reaching out
directly to victims to help them rebuild their lives. Our September 11 efforts have fallen
into three major categories:
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Educating the Public
Everyone in America has been
affected by these crimes. Many have been traumatized.
At the National Center for Victims
of Crime, we understand that while a crime can last only moments, its impact can last a
lifetime. Victims often feel disoriented, easily frightened, unable to regain a sense of
control over their lives.
Many victims feel isolated and
confused, unable to connect with other people. Until September 11, many people in America
didn't know what it was like to be traumatized by crime.
At the National Center, we
thoroughly understand normal reactions to horribly abnormal, inhumane events.
Soon after the tragic events, we developed the
September 11 Response Card
. This is
a free resource for victim service and health care service providers, teachers, employers,
or anyone wanting to help those harmed by the tragic events of September 11. The front of
the 4" x 9" card explains the common emotional and physical reactions, and the
back of the card offers ways to help yourself cope with the reactions, and how to get more
assistance.
After only a few days of
highlighting the card on our web site, more than 200 organizations throughout the country
had ordered almost half a million cards to distribute. These cards are being broadly
distributed through businesses, law enforcement, clergy, PTAs, hospitals, state and local
governments, and national associations. Our partner, the American Red Cross, ordered
250,000 to distribute in New York City. Recently, the New York City Department of
Corrections ordered 20,000 to distribute to its employees. We have been told that the very
simple message on the card is quite comforting and reassuring.
We also published an exclusive interview with Dr. Frank
Ochberg
, an internationally acclaimed expert on
violence and trauma. In this article, Dr. Ochberg explains the symptoms of posttraumatic
stress disorder (PTSD), describes common reactions to human cruelty and offers advice
about ways to be helpful. This interview was posted on our website and distributed to
thousands of victim service providers to assist them in their interactions with victims.
We have made extensive use of our
website, to educate the public. We
have written and published articles on the topics victims and the
victim-serving field have requested:
hate
crimes , coping with trauma
, helping children , what communities can do to
respond , how to pick a mental health
care professional , vicarious trauma , and more. We have also served as a resource
to the press and given numerous media interviews. We have briefed congressional staff and
Department of Justice officials on the emerging needs and concerns of victims.
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Building the Capacity of Local Victim Service
Organizations
While the media understandably
focuses on the victims in New York City and the Washington region, the ripple effects of
these crimes are felt throughout the country. From coast to coast, people are anxious,
depressed, worried, numb, or simply need to talk.
People who have experienced trauma
or violence before are having a particularly difficult time coping.
Many people are turning to local
victim service providers for assistance. Some are seeking support groups. Many want
information about what they are experiencing, or about trauma, hate crime, safety planning
and a host of other topics. Rape crisis centers throughout the country are reporting that
calls to their hotlines have increased dramatically.
In addition to helping individuals,
local victim service providers throughout the country have also been helping America's
communities heal.
Very quietly, with little fanfare,
these organizations have sponsored candlelight vigils, art projects for children, healing
circles and debriefing sessions-all to help Americans come to terms with these powerful
experiences.
While the events of September 11th
have strained the resources of victim service providers across the country, the National
Center for Victims of Crime has played a critical role in building the capacity of these
organizations to do this important work.
Our key communications strategy has
been a series of biweekly
emails to 4,000 local
victim service agencies across the country. We provide breaking news about policy
developments, particularly state and federal legislative initiatives. We distribute new
materials to support their work with crime victims. Some of these materials are geared to
service providers. Others are designed to be distributed to victims. In addition, we
regularly survey these organizations to determine how their work continues to change after
September 11. This frequent communication serves several important purposes-it keeps
thousands of service providers informed of breaking events, helps them expand the scope of
their services, and enables us to continue to serve them well.
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Providing Services to Individual Victims
Victims of crime can contact the
National Center through our toll-free Helpline, 1-800-FYI-CALL, or gethelp@NCVC.org.
Since September 11th, our contact
with victims has doubled. Helpline calls are up, emails are up, and hits to our web site
have increased dramatically. Every day, we speak with victims from all over the
country-people from the New York metropolitan region who are displaced, grieving, or
seeking information about emergency financial assistance. Some want to relocate. Others
are anxious to return to their homes.
We have spoken with victims in
California who need help locating a relative, and victims in Michigan who need to find an
attorney. Many people call who just haven't been able to navigate the private or public
assistance bureaucracies. We have also made special efforts to reach out to Muslim,
Arab-American and Southeast Asian organizations to offer materials about hate crime and
make sure they are aware of our services.
We have spoken with survivors from
throughout the United States-people who need help coping. Some are having nightmares or
feel intense anger. Some can't work. Some have children who can't get to sleep. Others
don't want to get out of bed in the morning.
Our services to individual victims
have ranged from providing supportive counseling, practical assistance, and information
about what they are experiencing, to referrals to local social service organizations. In
assisting these victims, we draw upon the extensive resources of the National Center:
- Teen Victim Project which
leverages the resources of national youth-serving organizations and local victim services
to address the needs of our most vulnerable and most underserved populations of crime
victims-teenagers;
- National Crime
Victim Bar Association
, an affiliate of the National Center that links victims of crime to
experienced trial attorneys who will represent them;
- Publications, including
60-plus information bulletins on crime and victimization;
- Network of 7,500 social service
providers
around the country, accessible through our unique database that includes
detailed descriptions of the services they provide and their eligibility requirements.
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We
Need Your Help
Help us continue these and other
efforts. Your
support is needed now .
Thank you.
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