National Crime Victim’s Rights Week (NCVRW), which was observed this year on April 10-16, is an event initiated by the Office for Victims of Crime to honor survivors of traumatic crimes and to educate the community about the importance of supporting crime victims. This year’s theme was, “Serving Victims. Building Trust. Restoring Hope”. TSSNT proudly participated in ceremonies for Dallas and Tarrant County; both were held on Wednesday, April 13th.
Dallas County’s ceremony took place at Texas Health Resources University on the campus of Presbyterian Hospital. Approximately 120 crime victim advocates, service providers, and survivors were in attendance. Brittany Dunn, Director of Communications for Dallas County District Attorney’s Office, presided over the program, and Dallas County District Attorney, Susan Hawk, was the keynote speaker. There was also a panel discussion that consisted of crime victims who were inspired by their traumas to create non-profit organizations to help others. On the panel was Carolyn Hudson, founder of Silent Screams and former TSSNT client, Jason Lindenberger, founder of Dallas Victims of Crime, Tonya Stafford, founder of It’s Going to be Ok, Inc., and David B. Walker, co-founder of The Sadie Walker Foundation. Each panelist discussed their journey from being crime victims to crime victim advocates and responded to questions from the audience. The ceremony was followed by a meal donated and catered by Maggiano’s Italian restaurant.