For grant and funding information, contact:
Department of Justice Response Center
1-800-421-6770

This document was prepared by Victim Services, supported by grant number 96-VF-6X-K0008, awarded by the Office of Victims for Crime, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this document are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Office for Victims of Crime is a component of the Office of Justice Programs which also includes the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Acknowledgments

The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) would like to thank Victim Services for their hard work in the development and writing of this document. Specifically, OVC would like to acknowledge the following individuals for their dedication and time in producing this publication.

Lucy N. Friedman, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Victim Services
2 Lafayette Street, 3rd Floor
New York, New York 10007
(212) 577-7705

Since 1978, Dr. Friedman has served as the Executive and Founding Director of Victim Services, the largest victim assistance provider in the nation. Dr. Friedman has worked to incorporate victim services into all system components that come into contact with victims - including schools, hospitals, and the courts. Among her innovations are a domestic violence program that teams police officers with counselors to reach domestic violence victims; New York City's first school-based mediation program, which teaches young people non-violent conflict resolution; the country's first domestic violence service program in a public housing setting; and a counseling program for families of homicide victims. Dr. Friedman is a 1994 recipient of the President's Crime Victim Service Award.

Susan B. Tucker, J.D.
Director of Policy and Research Development
Victim Services

Susan B. Tucker is Director of Policy and Research Development at Victim Services, where she has directed projects on the costs of domestic violence, anti-bias education for immigrants in ESOL programs and crime victim activism. She has written and spoken on a variety of victimization and violence prevention issues including domestic violence, workplace domestic violence and victim assistance. She previously taught and practiced law in New York City.

Peter Neville
Program Assistant
Victim Services

Peter Neville is Program Assistant in the Policy Office at Victim Services, where he works on a broad range of crime, victimization and violence prevention topics. Previously, he worked at the Bush Center in Child Development and Social Policy at Yale University, focusing on public policy in the areas of early education and family services. He holds a B.A. in psychology from Wesleyan University.

Foreword

Across America, victims of crime have turned their agony into activism. Many have found that participating in community service-helping other victims and initiating crime prevention and awareness programs-contributes significantly to their own healing. These victims include extraordinary people such as Marilyn Smith, who founded a comprehensive victim service program in Seattle for deaf and deaf-blind victims of sexual assault after trying unsuccessfully to find services herself as a deaf sexual assault victim; Azim Khamisa, who joined with the grandfather of the 14 year-old gang member who murdered his son to provide gang prevention programs in San Diego schools; and the many parents who came together after their children were killed by drunk drivers to support Mothers Against Drunk Driving in its successful efforts to strengthen laws, provide victim impact classes, and educate the public about the devastating impact of this crime.

This monograph chronicles ways in which many crime victims are channeling their pain into helping others, improving their communities, and healing themselves at the same time. It describes opportunities for victims who want to become active and makes important recommendations for victim service programs regarding ways to involve victims in community service.

The monograph was written by Victim Services, a New York City-based program which is the largest victim assistance provider in the nation. The monograph is part of a larger document entitled New Directions From the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st Century, a comprehensive report and set of recommendations on victims' rights and services from and concerning virtually every community involved with crime victims across the nation.

Crime victims themselves have a critical role to play in the nation's response to violence and victimization. The purpose of this mono- graph is to foster increased collaboration between victims, service providers, and policy makers to ensure justice and healing for all victims of crime.

Kathryn M. Turman
Acting Director
Office for Victims of Crime

"Pain falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom." -Agamemnon, Aeschylus

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