Winter 2010/2011 Newsletter

From the Executive Director:

The mass shooting in Tucson that occurred on January 8, 2011 shocked and saddened the entire country. We watched with hope and prayers as many of the victims began their recovery. We sympathized with the many families who lost someone as a result of this crime. And, we acknowledge the commitment and hard work of the victim advocates in Pima County who offered support and resources to those who were involved in this horrific tragedy, and all of those who responded in the hours and days following the event.

While crime rates across the state and locally have declined, we have seen an increase in domestic violence and child abuse crimes. Victim Witness is responding to these victims. We’ve secured funding for a free domestic violence support group for women who have experienced domestic violence and have provided additional domestic violence trainings for professionals and the community. We’ve received funding from the Office for Victims of Crime for a public awareness campaign addressing child maltreatment. A stellar advisory group of social service agencies and the Coconino County Attorney’s Office is involved in review of campaign materials for this two year project.

The Annual Holiday Fundraising Letter was very successful. On behalf of the Board of Directors, staff and volunteers, thank you to all who were able to donate and a special “Thank You” to Salsa Brava owners John and Genevieve Conley. Their donation was the largest individual donation made to Victim Witness in recent history. Financial support from the community is appreciated any time of year and is requisite for Victim Witness’s continuing to assist victim of crime in Coconino County. Visit our website at vwscoconino. org to learn more about the programs and services we provide, to see our latest newsletters, or to donate on- line.

Victim Advocates Assist in Tucson Tragedy

STATEMENT FROM COUNTY ATTORNEY (Tucson, AZ) - Barbara LaWall, Pima County Attorney, released the following statement:

I am certain that you all are as shocked, stunned, and deep- ly saddened as I am by the horrific and senseless violence that occurred this Saturday morning. Dedicated, commit- ted public servants, honest caring citizens, and a young innocent child were brutally attacked and cold-bloodedly murdered in an unspeakably evil and despicable act that has impacted and reverberated throughout our entire community. I extend my most sincere personal condo- lences to the families and friends of those killed and in- jured, some of whom are very close personal friends of mine and of other employees of this Office.

I am tremendously proud of, and grateful for, the out- standing work and consummate professionalism of our prosecutors, victim advocates, detectives, and community volunteers who were at the scene and at the various hos- pitals where the victims were treated. The value of their contributions cannot be overstated. I want to applaud and acknowledge the incredible assistance each of them rendered to the entire community. They all quietly and effectively did their jobs exceedingly well, and too often this tireless dedication goes completely unheralded and unnoticed by the media and public.

Within 45 minutes of receiving the call, Victim Services Director Kent Burbank, along with Advocates Vanessa Helms and James Gierke, organized 30+ staff and volun- teers to respond to the crime scene and assist the victims and witnesses. The speed with which the Victim Services Division deployed teams to five separate locations - all the hospitals and the crime scene - was astonishing. They compassionately attended to the witnesses, to victims, and their families. Two command posts were immediately set up: one at the crime scene, the other at UMC. They immediately responded to four different hospitals, con- ducted critical incident debriefings at the crime scene with witnesses, Safeway employees, and victims, and delivered exceedingly difficult death notifications to the families of the murdered victims. They were active participants all day and into the evening, and then met again and worked with the first responders on Sunday. They had a full and overwhelming weekend. They are unsung heroes and deserve enormous credit for their steady perseverance, their compassionate care and their unwavering support of severely traumatized victims, survivors, and their fam- ily members.

A very special acknowledgement goes out to the numer- ous PCAO citizen advocate volunteers who served this weekend as well. These are the men and women of our community who gave generously, without any remunera- tion or reward, of their time, their energy, and their hearts to be of help to those who most needed it in a time of extreme crisis. We would be unable to provide the kind of assistance to this community that was offered without their dedicated volunteer assistance. I am so deeply grate- ful to them.

Needless to say, in the midst of the ugly and frightening chaos of the crime scene, our seasoned and most experi- enced prosecutors were present. They provided reasoned and expert legal expertise throughout the day and late into the evening. Law enforcement was grateful and ap- preciative for the immediate and steady presence of our folks: Rick Unklesbay, Kellie Johnson, David Berkman, and Ken Janes. Deputy County Attorneys Rick Unklesbay and Kellie Johnson worked through the entire weekend, including early morning meetings on Sunday. Countless hours throughout the weekend were spent by them work- ing on and sorting out the myriad legal issues that have arisen as a result of the unique confluence of concur- rent state and federal criminal jurisdiction resulting from these crimes. At the completion of their meetings, they didn’t go home, but instead returned to the office to work on and prepare for the capital murder trial of Shauna Forde which starts this week. Moreover, I am particularly pleased with how everyone coordinated and cooperated with other local and federal agencies and have committed to continue to do so.

As you can imagine, phones never stopped ringing. I want to especially acknowledge the work of Isabel Burruel Smutzer who handled the countless, often frenetic, and sometimes frantic and demanding, media calls with incredible confidence, utmost grace and great efficiency. She was a phenomenal and steady presence all weekend, working with the media and triaging the calls.

It is late Sunday night as I compose this email and I can report back to you that everyone involved is emotionally and physically exhausted. But despite our utter disbelief and shock, our concern is not for ourselves, but for the victims and their families. I know I speak for all of us in sending our most sincere condolences to the families of the slain and our wishes of healing to the families of those injured.

Executive Committee

Kathe Shinham, Ed.D., CPA, President
Lt. Ken Koch, Vice President
Cindy Cox, Secretary
Paul Bustamante, Treasurer
Kris Stark, Executive Director

Board Members

Diane Chung, Community Member
Lt. Tim Cornelious, Coconino Sheriff’s Dept.
Lauren Lauder, NARBHA
Chad McCutchen, Deckers Outdoors
Karen Pugliesi, Vice Provost NAU
Marlene DeRosa, DeRosa Physical Therapy
David Rozema, Coconino County Attorney
Susan Shaw, NARBHA
Paula Smith, UniSource

Volunteers

Christina Allen
Kelly Anderson
Dana Breyer
Pricilla Brown
Lauren Buck
Amalia (Rosa) Caldwell
Shannon Cassidy
Meredith Conner
Rebecca Christ
Florina Daniels
Becca Dickerson
Elizabeth Dublinski
John Fall
Mike Getchis
Courtney Ghan
Lindsey Goss
Taylor Heimann
Paul Hernandez
Sharilyn Hunter
Lanna Jim
Alyssa Lopez
Grace Marks
Andrew Mason
Amanda McConaha
Miranda Minasian
Ashley Morrison
Anna Pesce
Baily Pugh
Candace Schmid
Terry Talbott-McCall
Sarah Targos
Jordan Thorlin
Verlena Tso
Gini Van Arsdell
Dianna Van Sanford
Melissa Skeet
Kelly Wells
Kayey Wilcoxson
Deeda Williams
Stephanie Wilson

Mission

Victim/Witness Services offers compassionate support and resources to victims, witnesses and survivors of crime and crisis.

Values

Commitment – We recognize commitment as the foundation to providing compassionate support by honoring our obligations to our clients, each other and our community.

Education – We value education as a tool to foster self- confidence in our clients and their ability to utilize their rights and resources.

Trust – We recognize trust as a key component in instilling confidence and encouraging our clients to regain their personal strength.

Domestic Violence

Join us in our first Annual DV Trail Ride. For more information or to become involved, contact Holly Hulen at hhulen@coconino.az.gov.

Domestic Violence Support

Through seed-monies provided by a UniSource grant, VWS is implementing a long needed community DV women’s support group, free of charge. These support groups will offer women the opportunity to build connection with others and break through the feeling of isolation. The support groups will also offer resources and referrals. For more information, call (928) 779-6163.

“THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES”

The Vagina Monologues is based on Ensler’s interviews with more than 200 women. With humor and grace the piece celebrates women’s’ sexuality and strength.

Today, V-Day is a global movement that supports anti- violence organizations throughout the world, helping them to continue and expand their core work on the ground, while drawing public attention to the larger fight to stop worldwide violence (including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM), sexual slavery) against women and girls. V-Day exists for no other reason than to stop violence against women.

This year’s production is directed by Becky Daggett and Assistant Director, Lisa Brink. Come out to see Flagstaff’s amazing 29 cast members. Enjoy the evening of February 26, 2011 at The Vagina Monologues Flagstaff 2011 community performance. The Orpheum Theatre doors open at 7:00 pm to provide you time to bid on fabulous silent auction items and to have fun creating memories at the photo booth. The show starts at 8:00 pm. Tickets, available at orpheumpresents.com, Rainbows End, and Animas Trading, are only $5.00!

This community performance is a collaborative effort between Victim Witness Services for Coconino County, Northern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault and Theatrikos Theatre Company and is supported by BBB Revenues from the City of Flagstaff and Flagstaff Cultural Partners.

The Amazing 2011 Cast Members & Production Team:

Sherri Anaya, Jane Armstrong Woodman, Jenny Baker, Ginger Buckendahl, Angela Cooper, Christine Freder- icks, Monica Gallo, Kayla Garfield, Kelly Gibbs, Ginger Haviland, Nancy Heimstra, Maddie Hendel, Kim Jaeger, Jasmine Jewell, Tiffany Johnson, McKenzie Jones, Sara Krusenstjerna, Amanda Mc Donald, Leah Norris, Jen- nifer O’Leary, Katie Piehl, Trish Rensink, Regina Salas, Stephanie Smith, Sydney Tolchinsky, Ruth Thomas, Betty Viveros, Amita Welles, Kathi Zahl.

Director............................................................Becky Dagget

Assistant Director................................................ Lisa Brink

Set/Program/Poster Design............................. Jon Jensen

Costume..................................................... ....Bracken Davis

Stage Manager..............................................Danielle Knight

Marketing.................................Sara Herron, Denise Stanga

VWS Welcomes AMERICORPS!

AmeriCorps is a network of local, state, and national service programs that connects more than 70,000 Americans each year

in intense service to meet our country’s critical needs in education, public safety, health, and the environment. VWS is proud to be an AmeriCorps partner and pleased to introduce our AmeriCorps member, Verlena Tso. Verlena’s position is funded by the Flagstaff Cultural Partners grant to assist with The Vagina Monologues outreach efforts.

Verlena Tso is a NAU senior majoring in criminology. Verlena stated “ I chose VWS as a placement because it relates to my field of study. It has ultimately changed my career path in life. Overall, the experience has been wonderful; especially because of the great people I got know while on-site.” She has been instrumental in the outreach and coordination of The Vagina Monologues!

Victim Witness Services is Awarded Child Maltreatment Public Awareness Office of Victim Services Grant

Victim Witness Services is one of ten agencies in the nation to receive 2010 Office for Victims of Crime Funding to establish a Public Awareness and Outreach Campaign for Child Maltreatment Victims in underserved Communities. VWS has been a leader in victims’ rights and advocacy for over 26 years. This October, 2010, VWS received a two year federal grant in the amount of $99,000 to address the issue of child maltreatment in underserved communities.

Child maltreatment includes physical, sexual, and psychological abuse. Research demonstrates that children who are exposed to violence can suffer devastating effects. Children who experience violence may experience difficulties with attachment, regressive behavior, anxiety and depression, and aggression and conduct problems. They may be more prone to dating violence, delinquency, further victimization, and involvement with the child welfare and juvenile justice systems (Finkler, 2009).

Arizona ranks 40th in overall child wellbeing (datacenter. kidscount.org). Unfortunately, Coconino County experiences a high rate of child maltreatment. From the data collected, 44% of the children treated for maltreatment in Coconino County were Native American. This statistic is even more alarming when compared to the fact that only 29% of the county’s population is Native American. VWS Executive Kris Stark stated “We are excited to have this opportunity. Although quality services are available to child victims, the vast geography and diversity of culture creates a gap in the awareness of needs associated with child maltreatment victims and the knowledge of resources. This campaign will cover the entire county of Coconino and make a targeted focus to have materials and resources reach Native Americans.”

Heidi Solano was hired as the Project Director. Not only was she a VWS volunteer, she brings to VWS a MBA, non-profit and outreach experience, and enthusiasm. She was also a nominee for the Young Professional Athena Award which embodies the spirit of service to women and youth. Her goal is to strengthen countywide efforts in advocating for child maltreatment victims. VWS will build upon collaborative partnerships to create an advisory group that will guide the overall mission of increasing the knowledge of child maltreatment victims’ needs and promoting the awareness of the available resources and services.

Note to the Volunteers

Dear Volunteers,

Thanks for another year of service. 2010 was a busy year for Victim Witness Services. We welcomed two volunteers to our staff, attended 218 crisis calls, and spent 8,973 hours on call. I think, as a past volunteer myself, you forget the countless hours you spend on call to support our agency, the community, and victims of crime. If we paid our volunteers for all the hours of service we’d owe $144,017.00 for all the long hard hours you put in! That’s amazing and I want every volunteer to know they are priceless.

I was excited to see so many of you at the Holiday Party in December. It was awesome to give everyone new shirts, with our beautiful new logo! I know you can never find anything good to wear at 2 a.m., so I’m hoping VWS has alleviated a tiny bit of stress.

I’m also excited about our Volunteer Appreciation Week event. The 1st Annual Mobilize and Reenergize VWS Volunteer Summit is going to be a huge success. In addition to providing advanced training, it will also offer another opportunity for VWS and myself to thank all of you who give so much. Again, the dates are April 11th and 16th. The agenda will include a guest speaker, games, food, and even a prize giveaway! More information to come.

Check out the new newsletter section “Volunteer Spotlight”. This edition features volunteer Candace Schmid! If you’d like to be the next Volunteer Spotlight or would like to nominate one of your fellow volunteers, please email me.

Be sure if you see Heidi Solano or Lindsey Goss to congratulate them on their new positions!

As always THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! You are priceless to our agency, the community and me in particular. I value all the time we spend together, from training events to crisis calls.

Sincerely,

Sarah Moulton