For sufferers of crimes, navigating the courtroom device can appear overwhelming. However, all over National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office is celebrating the advocates who lend a hand those sufferers every step of the best way.
One of those advocates is JoCarrol Bird. Bird has been a sufferer recommend with Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office for 25 years. Her pastime for serving to others stems from her non-public experience- her husband used to be murdered in their eating place in 1985.
At that point, Bird explains that there used to be no sufferer help program to be had to lend a hand them during the procedure. She needed to undergo the entirety by means of herself. “I remember having to sit out in the corridor by myself after I had testified, and just you’re there by yourself,” says Bird.
Victim advocates like Bird are assigned to every case that the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office prosecutes. They lend a hand sufferers thru the rest from housebreaking to murder circumstances. “Our victim advocates walk those victims, those next of kin, through the court process. They are with them from the morning after someone is arrested, if it is a domestic violence case, all the way through a resolution of the case or a trial,” explains Hillsborough State Attorney Suzy Lopez.
Bird is there every step of the best way, turning a tragedy into a method of guiding others and assuring sufferers that they aren’t on my own. “We all have our ups and downs days, so if I can help someone, then I’m happy,” provides Bird.
National Crime Victims’ Rights Week takes position from April 23 thru April 29.