Detroit — A small pack of walkers pinned on numbers and took to the roads of Belle Isle on Sunday morning to show their solidarity with survivors and victims of crime.
Representatives from a handful of local, state and federal agencies — collectively the Detroit Crime Victim Action Team — and their supporters powered through the 5-kilometer walk, which is in its second year and formally kicks off National Crime Victims’ Rights Week locally. “Listen. Act. Advocate,” said signs along the course.
“Survivors matter. And we must be accountable to them,” Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement. “We cannot just give lip service to victims and public safety. We must mean it. We must be out and bold about it. We must live it.”
The main event honoring victims and survivors is a community and resource fair at noon Friday at the Wayne County Criminal Justice Center, 5301 Russell Street in Detroit.
Shauntaye Phillips, the wife of Harold Phillips, a victim of a fatal dog attack, will share her story, and resources will be provide for folks who need assistance following a crime. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, FBI, Michigan Attorney General’s Office, Drug Enforcement Administration and more participate in the week’s events and make up the regional victim action team.
People who are victims of crime and need support or guidance about what comes next should usually first start at their local police precinct, which can then refer them to their local prosecutor’s office and its victims services unit, said Mèchelle Donahoo, who directs the victims services unit at the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.
“We walk them through each step of the process, so they’re not just out there just going, “What’s going on?” Donahoo said before the 5k began.
That can include explaining what the defendant has been charged with, support and guidance about the logistics of the court process, helping fill out forms to potentially receive compensation, providing notice if the defendant is released, and sometimes even connecting crime victims with housing and food resources, Donahoo said.
The prosecutor’s office even has a special closet where people can get free clothes like a suit and tie to wear to court.
More than anything, Donahoo said victims and survivors often simply need “a listening ear.” The aim is to ensure they don’t feel alone.
“Sometimes we’re the first person that will just let them tell what happened to them, without cutting them off,” Donahoo said. “If you can give somebody 15 to 20 minutes of your time to just let them get it out, that helps them feel better. Then they can know, ‘Oh, they listen. They heard me.'”
Plenty of folks have never heard of victim services, she said, but every prosecutor’s office has them. Shanda Glover, also in the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office victim services unit and focused on juvenile cases, said frequently people don’t want to be labeled as a victim, but they need assistance just the same — and she urged people to reach out to the office directly, if needed, for guidance.
Karen Hall, another walk participant, is involved in a different area of victim services that is just over two years old in Michigan. As program manager of the Department of Attorney General’s address confidentiality program, she makes sure the real addresses of victims of domestic violence, human trafficking, stalking, sexual assault and other crimes aren’t easily attainable, so they can avoid further threats or violence.
“We conceal their address, we provide them a substitute address — like a fake address to use in place of their real address — and then we provide a mail boarding service,” Hall said. “And then that address that we provide them is also on their driver’s license, so that way, it protects their information from getting out through public records.”
lramseth@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: At Belle Isle walk, crime victim advocates say their help is available
Reporting by Luke Ramseth, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
