Denver VS2000

In Denver, an extensive network of more than 50 nonprofit and government agencies plays a critical role in the delivery of services to victims of crime. Individuals and representatives from each participating agency collaborated for the past 4 years as partners in the Denver VS2000 project, including community and criminal justice-based victim service programs, allied professionals, and victims and survivors of crime. Together, they created a multidisciplinary, integrated network that provided effective delivery of services to crime victims by addressing the gaps in service and the barriers that prevented victims from accessing services.

Although many of the participating Denver organizations and programs have a history of collaborating on other projects and initiatives, the VS2000 project provided the first opportunity for participation and collaboration by the full spectrum of Denver’s victim service agencies. OVC funding for staffing and programmatic innovations allowed these service providers and allied professionals to come together and work toward the following goals:

• Create a seamless, comprehensive, coordinated, interdisciplinary system for delivery of services for victims of crime, emphasizing services for previously underserved and unserved victims.
  
  
• Apply technology to the delivery of services for victims of crime.
  
  
• Establish a training institute to integrate technology, cross-train victim service providers, and train allied professionals who work with victims of crime.