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Good Samaritans Volunteers Helping Victims Program Handbook and Training Guide
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About This Guide Message From the Director Acknowledgments About the Authors Related Links
Photo: Man and woman looking out of a broken window.

Publication Date: April 2009

minus iconFilling a Void—Origins of the Program
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minus iconVolunteers: Recruiting,
Screening, and Training

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minus iconModule 2: The Victim Experience
minus iconModule 3: Basic Skills for Volunteers
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Message From the Director

Since it was established in 1984, the Office for Victims of Crime has recognized faith communities as valuable resources to victim service providers because of their unique ability to address both the physical and spiritual needs of victims of crime. Highlighted in this new presidential administration are program initiatives that bring a new focus to strengthening partnerships to address social problems by connecting people at all levels of a community, including government and civic entities as well as secular and faith-based community organizations, to improve lives in each neighborhood. OVC has increased its efforts to provide funding and resources to victim assistance initiatives that highlight these grass-roots partnerships to provide better services to victims of crime. The Good Samaritans program in Mobile, Alabama, developed this handbook to share the story of how they strengthened and expanded the role of these partnerships in their community and to help communities across the Nation by providing them with a tool that promotes an understanding of crime victims' issues and how to serve victims of crime. This handbook will increase opportunities for faith- and community-based organizations and victim service professionals to engage volunteers from the community to support their work helping victims of crime.

Many victims of crime turn to faith communities for support, but faith leaders may not be fully aware of the impact that victimization can have on the lives of crime victims or how their communities can help, especially in cooperation with the criminal justice system. Collaboration between victim service providers and faith communities, specifically in the use of volunteers to assist in serving crime victims, can help ensure that crime victims receive the full range of services and support to meet their psychological, financial, physical, and spiritual needs.

The purpose of this pilot project was to institutionalize partnerships among the criminal justice system, the faith community, and local volunteers to serve crime victims in Mobile County, Alabama. Through the program, volunteers are trained to provide emergency services to crime victims, including home repair, referrals to community services, followup care, and support. The handbook and training guide is designed for prosecutors, law enforcement agencies, community groups, and faith-based organizations who are interested in expanding their services to crime victims through the use of volunteers. The guide traces the history of the original Good Samaritans program in Mobile, Alabama, and replication of the project in other communities. It also addresses how to start a Good Samaritans program, provides a basic training guide for volunteers, and discusses available resources for communities wishing to start their own program.

Joye E. Frost
Acting Director
Office for Victims of Crime