Publication Date: April 2009
Building Partnerships
Other Key Partners
Community service groups, professional associations, retiree organizations, community action groups, and neighborhood watch organizations all have a stake in serving their community's crime victims. Presentations to these groups can net volunteers and financial support.
In Mobile and many other cities throughout the United States, "volunteer centers" help other agencies recruit, train, recognize, and manage volunteers. Volunteer Mobile provides this support to the Good Samaritans program in Alabama and recruits volunteers through weekly newspaper articles and broadcast media appearances.
Businesses are important partners, too. In Mobile, three Lowe's stores established volunteer teams for Good Samaritans as part of their "Heroes" employee volunteer program. The stores also donated materials and offered training to other volunteers in how to make simple repairs for crime victims. Other businesses also have donated materials and employees to help repair victims' homes after a break-in.
It is important to involve all relevant government agencies: sometimes other government services may be required to prevent revictimization of the crime victim or to repair or replace broken fixtures such as street lights.
