Supporting family and friends of homicide victims
Abstract
According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, an estimated 16,204 murders were committed in the United States in 2002. Homicide survivors, a large and vulnerable population, need help grieving their losses. In Memphis, Tennessee, a faith-based organization provides emotional, spiritual, and practical support. Azalea Aguilar of the National Crime Prevention Council submitted this effective practice in March 2006.
Issue
Homicide survivors (relatives, significant others, friends, and neighbors — all who grieve for the victim) may find their grief complicated by factors related to the homicide, such as police interrogations and intrusions by the media.
Action
Victims to Victory is committed to assisting the families and friends of those grieving for homicide victims, despite the fact that providing aid to people who are mourning is difficult, even for those who have been professionally trained. It is necessary to provide support and empathy and yet maintain some emotional distance. Volunteers go through intensive training in grief counseling to learn how to avoid burnout.
In the immediate aftermath of a murder, most survivors are too traumatized to seek help. Access to timely contact information for families of victims is provided by the Memphis Homicide Department and the District Attorney's office. The homicide department notifies Victims to Victory that a homicide has occurred, and the group sends a letter to the victim's family offering the free services.
Volunteers make follow-up calls and a home visit.
Victims to Victory also employs two full-time homicide assistance specialists to provide crisis counseling when needed.
The faith community establishes a grief support group for the survivors in collaboration with state-funded programs in the area and offers workshops and weekend retreats.
Staff of Victims to Victory serve on the city's Fatality Review Team and the Faith Outreach Committee of the local Domestic Violence Council. They partner with the county victim assistance agency to host an annual remembrance retreat for survivors.
Context
A Tennessee pastoral counselor established Victims to Victory because she had been unable to find such services for the surviving family members of young murder victims in her congregation. Victims to Victory is an affiliate ministry of the Memphis Leadership Foundation, established in the fall of 1986.
Residents of Memphis contend with the nation's second-highest violent crime rate. In addition, the rate of robbery and burglary are among the nation's highest. (FBI Uniform Crime Reports)
Outcome
Through Victims to Victory, local churches reach out to the community in a new way, offering practical assistance and emotional and spiritual support to help victims of crime move from crisis to comfort. Although volunteers pray with the survivors at their request, survivors do not need to make a profession of faith to receive support from the program.
Evidence
Victims to Victory serves up to 200 homicide survivors each year. It is the only faith-based agency serving homicide victim families in the Memphis area. The agency's Homicide Co-victims Program was cited among promising faith-based practices in New Directions From the Field: Victims‚ Rights and Services for the 21st Century, published by the Office for Victims of Crime of the U.S. Department of Justice.
