Victims' rights organization scrambles to stay afloat

PALMER -- A reinforcement of rights and a call for aid were the themes of a Tuesday presentation by Victims for Justice spokeswoman Dolores Martinez to the Palmer Lions Club.

Victims for Justice was founded in 1985 by the family of victims in an Anchorage murder case. Today, it remains a private, nonprofit organization that relies entirely on donations, mostly independent, to stay afloat.

It wasn't always this way. The organization used to receive $250,000 per year from the state's Department of Law to work its projects. Last year, that amount was cut to $125,000.

This year, the organization receives nothing but a few minor donations from organizations such as United Way, and independent donations from local residents. The organization deals primarily with victims of burglary, robbery, domestic violence, assault, and murder, as well as their families and loved ones.

"Being the victim of a crime can be so overwhelming," said Martinez, a victims advocate with Victims for Justice.

Martinez estimates that Victims for Justice can hold out with current funds until this October, but after that time the organization, without future aid from grants or other sources, will be in serious jeopardy.

Though Victims for Justice is based in Anchorage, the organization covers cases across the entire state, including the Valley. Martinez said that when they were still receiving money from the state, a plan to send a Victims for Justice representative to the Valley one day a week, in an agreement with Wasilla Mayor Dianne Keller, was in the works.

However, when funding was cut, this plan was put on hold.

The process enacted by Victims for Justice involves a simple three-pronged support system. First, the organization works to inform victims of their legal rights to attend court hearings and write victim-impact statements.

"The court system is so overwhelming at times," Martinez said. In addition, a murder or other violent crime case can take months, even years, to be completed, she said, and the process can be intimidating and confusing.

"We often have to explain the little things," Martinez said.

Secondly, the organization provides moral and psychological support to crime victims.

"Victims may not be able to sleep, they may not be able to eat, they might be afraid to leave their homes," Martinez said. "We try to tell them that what they're feeling is absolutely normal."

Thirdly, Victims for Justice helps victims through the process required by the Violent Crimes Compensation Board to claim rehabilitation costs incurred by the crime. These costs may include health costs for victims without insurance, compensation for lost time at work, and professional counseling. However, lost or damaged property isn't covered. Funds distributed by the board are derived from permanent fund dividends that would have gone to offenders now in prison.

In addition to typical victim crimes, the organization handles cases in which the perpetrator of the crime may be his or her own victim, as well as those involving trauma to multiple victims related to the primary target.

"There are no victimless crimes," Martinez said.

However, Victims for Justice isn't the only organization that deals with aid to crime victims. The Alaska Office of Victims' Rights was established by the legislature in 2001 to oversee the impact of an amendment to the state's constitutional amendment guaranteeing victims' rights.

This office, unlike Victims for Justice, is empowered to advocate in state court for all felony cases and all misdemeanors either involving domestic violence or crimes against a person. The office's lawyers may address the sentencing judge on the victim's behalf in lieu of a victim-impact statement, at the victim's request.

Primary services offered by Victims for Justice include crisis intervention, grief education, advocacy, and support, court accompaniment (not including formal legal counsel), support for victims of juvenile offenders, outreach to rural Alaska, referral to other service providers, violent crimes compensation support and the CourtWatch program, which is a volunteer-based monitoring of the criminal justice system.

Most importantly, however, Victims for Justice works to minimize the impact that immediate repercussions of a crime can have on a victim. These measures are on the order of temporary repair for windows or doors damaged by break-ins -- actions that prevent the victim's situation from becoming worse.

The organization imposes no lower or upper age limit, and does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race or beliefs.

"If they say they're a victim, we believe them," she said.

Martinez estimated that her organization handles about 500 victims per year, both directly and through a juvenile advocate at McLaughlin Youth Facility in Anchorage. The organization employs five workers, 17 CourtWatch volunteers, and four clerical volunteers.

No application or other paperwork is required to receive aid from Victims for Justice; all that's needed is a phone call. "A victim is a victim, and the circumstances don't matter," Martinez said.

To contact or donate to Victims for Justice, call (907) 278-0977 or (888) 835-1213.

Contact Daniel Spoth at daniel.spoth@frontiersman.com.