Victim Witness looking for volunteers

A volunteer program run through the Pima County Attorney’s office is seeking volunteers in Green Valley, Sahuarita, and the surrounding areas of Southern Pima County, to work as crisis intervention counselors at crime scenes.

These volunteers would be called out by law enforcement authorities — either the Pima County Sheriff’s Department or the Sahuarita Police Department — to provide emotional support to local residents who have been victimized.

“The goal is to come in and meet the immediate needs of folks,” said Kent Burbank, director of the Victim Witness Program. “Think of it as psychological first aid. You’re there to help stabilize, work with the emotions they’re experiencing at that moment, then help them be able to focus on what they’re most pressing needs are.”

The Victim Witness Program was started in 1975 by the Pima County Attorney’s office, and is heavily dependent upon volunteers. Currently, the program has nearly 120 volunteers for its Central and Northwest Tucson Sectors.

“We noticed that it was becoming more difficult to serve outlying areas in Pima County, and a quick response time is vital,” Burbank said.

A grant from the Department of Justice — Office for Violence Against Women came through about a year ago, allowing Victim Witness to set up a home base in Sahuarita. An office in Ajo is next on the list.

The Sahuarita headquarters is run by Green Valley/Sahuarita Victim Witness advocate Juston Knight, who has an office in the Sahuarita Police Department. He describes his role as a combination of volunteer coordinator, crisis advocate, court advocate, program administrator, and outreach specialist.

Knight has so far talked to several organizations throughout the community to spread the word about Victim Witness, including Green Valley Recreation, Green Valley Community Coordinating Council, Green Valley Assistance Services, the Sahuarita Unified School District, the Green Valley Sahuarita Chamber of Commerce, and the Joyner-Green Valley Library.

“We’re looking for as many qualified volunteers as we can get. It’s a big commitment, but it’s worth it,” he said.

Shelly Gibbons, who has been a Victim Witness volunteer in Tucson for two years, says her work with the program is the most rewarding thing she’s ever done.

“It’s heartwarming,” she said. “It’s heartbreaking, too, but it’s rewarding that you know you have helped these people.”

Gibbons says most of the cases she’s had involve a death — either a natural death, suicide or homicide — or domestic violence.

“The priority is always making these people feel safe.”

She has done that by changing locks, getting victims to a shelter or a friend’s house, and then helping them brainstorm ideas for what steps they should take next.

“We want to get them to focus. In times of grief, it’s difficult to get people to think about practical, important things,” she said. “They’re frozen. But we help empower them to go on.”

Gibbons has 5-to-8 hour “pager shifts,” and goes out an average of once per week, but sometimes has two or three calls in just one shift. All volunteers work with a partner.

Program coordinators work around volunteer’s schedules, allowing them to choose day or night shifts and the number of hours per month they’d like to be on call, says Burbank. Green Valley and Sahuarita volunteers will probably get fewer calls than Tucson volunteers, he said, and the subjects of the calls may not be as violent.

“Because it’s a smaller community, we may be able to work with victims that traditionally don’t get that much help up in Tucson, such as victims of identity theft, burglary and crimes against the elderly.”

Volunteers would also be cross-trained to help victims through the criminal justice process, providing courtroom advocacy and support, he said.

To become a volunteer, residents are required to go through five weeks of comprehensive training. The first three weeks are considered basic training and will engage trainees in counseling exercises such as interactive role-playing. Then follows two weeks of advanced training, in which logistical skills, such as map reading and how to use police radios, are taught.

The basic training, which begins Oct. 27 and runs through Nov. 14, is open to everyone in the community and is “a great opportunity for personal development,” said Burbank.

Those who choose to go on to advanced training are asked to commit to at least one year of volunteer work.

Before signing up for training, residents must attend a two-hour information session held at the Sahuarita Police Department. Dates and times are Wednesday, Oct. 8, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.; and Thursday, Oct. 16, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. To sign up for an information session, call (520)-740-5525.

For more information about the Victim Witness Program in Sahuarita, contact Juston Knight at (520)-631-2835 or by e-mail at Juston.Knight@pcao.pima.gov.

jrichardson@gvnews.com | 547-9726