Victim or Survivor
I joined this group, not only, because I thought I could help someone who has been through a similar experience, but so that I can bear witness to the tragedy and devastation that occurs after a violent crime. Personally, I continue to struggle with my own victimization, hoping to someday consider myself a survivor.
My only daughter, Cory was murdered by an ex-boyfriend on April 23rd, 2000. She was a single Mom of a then 3 year old child. My wife and I took our Grandson into our home after Cory's death. We have a Son who was 2 weeks away from his 18th Birthday, when his sister was killed. At the time, at such a young age, we were told by professional's who assessed our Grandson, that he would probably recover fully from this tragic loss.
It was only after the preliminary hearing and a guilty plea to 2nd degree murder, did we hear what transpired the night our Daughter was murdered. Our Grandson was taken from his home, strapped in a car seat beside his dead mother, who was wrapped in a blanket and transported in a car to a place where our Grandson witnessed the disposal of his Mom's body.
He and we have struggled to get through these past 9 years, many times requesting services and being denied because of a perception by those in charge of an ability to pay. Our family has forever been altered. I will continue to advocate for change in the way victims of violent crime are treated after such tragedy. This tragedy has caused us both to struggle to remain gainfully employed, so we can support our Grandchild. All the while the perpetrator gets 3 squares a day, a roof over his head, and probably a well rounded education at the expense of the taxpayer, so he can become a productive member of society.
Support for victims of violent crime has improved greatly over the past 20 or so years, but there is still a long way to go. The general population needs to be made aware of the true cost of violent crime. In Canada, it has been estimated that annual costs of crime to society is in the area of 4.2 billion dollars, where as the annual cost of corrections is 648 million. We need to find additional resources to support crime victims, to minimize the costs to society. The delivery of services should be based on the need and all crime victims should be treated equally. There are no class distinctions for crime victims.The need to better support crime victims is great, so they too, may remain, productive, contributing members of society.
So if you are concerned about crime and the true cost to society, whether you are a crime victim or not, I invite you to join this group.
My only daughter, Cory was murdered by an ex-boyfriend on April 23rd, 2000. She was a single Mom of a then 3 year old child. My wife and I took our Grandson into our home after Cory's death. We have a Son who was 2 weeks away from his 18th Birthday, when his sister was killed. At the time, at such a young age, we were told by professional's who assessed our Grandson, that he would probably recover fully from this tragic loss.
It was only after the preliminary hearing and a guilty plea to 2nd degree murder, did we hear what transpired the night our Daughter was murdered. Our Grandson was taken from his home, strapped in a car seat beside his dead mother, who was wrapped in a blanket and transported in a car to a place where our Grandson witnessed the disposal of his Mom's body.
He and we have struggled to get through these past 9 years, many times requesting services and being denied because of a perception by those in charge of an ability to pay. Our family has forever been altered. I will continue to advocate for change in the way victims of violent crime are treated after such tragedy. This tragedy has caused us both to struggle to remain gainfully employed, so we can support our Grandchild. All the while the perpetrator gets 3 squares a day, a roof over his head, and probably a well rounded education at the expense of the taxpayer, so he can become a productive member of society.
Support for victims of violent crime has improved greatly over the past 20 or so years, but there is still a long way to go. The general population needs to be made aware of the true cost of violent crime. In Canada, it has been estimated that annual costs of crime to society is in the area of 4.2 billion dollars, where as the annual cost of corrections is 648 million. We need to find additional resources to support crime victims, to minimize the costs to society. The delivery of services should be based on the need and all crime victims should be treated equally. There are no class distinctions for crime victims.The need to better support crime victims is great, so they too, may remain, productive, contributing members of society.
So if you are concerned about crime and the true cost to society, whether you are a crime victim or not, I invite you to join this group.
posted
by silveradod96
