There is a movement to help victims and survivors of horrific crimes recover mentally. The Orange and Osceola County State Attorneys launched a pilot program in May to provide in-house crisis counseling to those who need it. “This will help attorneys and victims and help them get through a very traumatic time,” said Andrew Bain, State Attorney for the 9th Judicial Circuit. Bain’s office partnered with the Victim Services Center of Central Florida for the program. He said the goal is to give survivors more support while they are going through the criminal justice process. He said victims often have great fear, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. “Something happens now, and it may take days, months or even years to start feeling the effects. Something may be a trigger. You may not even realize it’s trauma-related,” he said. “We always want victims to talk about their experiences and provide the information they need so we can protect not only the victim but future victims from harm.” Bain says he has helped at least 10 people since he started the program. Recently, a 22-year-old woman who testified against a man was sentenced to life in prison for sexual torture and abuse. “We helped her learn coping techniques and stay calm while she was dealing with it in court. Someone was there throughout that time to help her get through it. That was very important to her and to the success of this case,” Bain said. The state attorney said this is just one example of why the program is so important. Currently, the program is only for victims with ongoing cases. Bain hopes to make it permanent and expand it to Osceola County. “We started this service only for murder, domestic violence and sex crimes. We’re just starting this service for general felonies. This service will increase as the demand for people seeking help grows,” Bain said. The VSC Helpline provides resources and support to all crime victims and survivors, even if they don’t have an ongoing case. The confidential crisis line is available 24/7 at 407-500HEAL.
There is a movement to help victims and survivors of tragic crimes recover psychologically.
State attorneys in Orange and Osceola counties launched a pilot program in May to provide in-house crisis counseling to those who need it.
“This is a way to help our attorneys and our victims and help them get through a very difficult time,” said 9th Judicial Circuit State Attorney Andrew Bain.
Bain’s office partnered with the Victim Assistance Center of Central Florida for the program, which he said is aimed at providing more support to victims while they’re going through the criminal justice process, who he said often suffer from great fear, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.
“If something happens now, it may take days, months or even years before you start to feel the effects. Something may trigger it. You may not even realize that what you’re doing is trauma-related,” he said. “We always encourage victims to talk about their experiences and provide any information they need so we can protect not only them but future victims from harm.”
Bain said he has helped at least 10 people since he began his work, most recently a 22-year-old woman who testified against the man and was sentenced to life in prison for sexual torture and abuse.
“We helped her learn coping skills and stay calm as she dealt with the court system, and had someone there the whole time to help her get through it, which was very important to her and to the success of this case,” Bain said.
The state’s attorney said this is just one example of why the program is so important. Currently, it only serves victims in active cases. Bain would like to make it permanent and expand it to Osceola County.
“We’ve only rolled it out for murder, domestic violence and sex crimes. We’re just now starting to apply it to general felonies. The numbers are going to grow along with the demand of people who need help,” Bain said.
The VSC Helpline provides resources and support to all crime victims and survivors, even if they do not have an active case.
Our confidential crisis line is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 407-500HEAL.
