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Services for Gun Victims
 he roundtable participants were
asked to consider how VOCA-funded programs, both compensation and direct services, are useful for
gun violence victims. Two points made
throughout the day were reiterated in this
discussion:
- Communities most at risk for gun
violence need ongoing prevention
work. Even though the Federal
VOCA Victim Assistance Final Program Guidelines preclude the use of
Crime Victims Fund moneys for “activities exclusively related to crime
prevention,” direct services and
compensation for gun victims could
have a secondary preventive effect
by minimizing the risk of retaliation
and repeat victimization. Comprehensive programs that provide direct
services and help break the cycle of
violence in the community typically
have more than one funding source.
For example, a program could receive VOCA funding to support
direct victim services and funding
from another federal agency, such as
DOJ’s OJJDP or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to support prevention
initiatives.
- Gun violence disproportionately affects young African-American men.
The health care, criminal justice,
and media response to these victims
may be less sympathetic than responses to other crime victims.
Whatever the reason for the
disparate treatment of these victims,
we must not ignore them. Assumptions about the blameworthiness of
young African-Americans and
Hispanics shortchange a large
segment of the population and
perpetuate racial stereotyping.
| Working With Victims
of Gun Violence |
July 2001
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