Advocate: ‘Nobody asks to be the victim’

Published 8:49 am Thursday, April 23, 2009

Anyone can be a victim.

It doesn’t matter where you live or what your income is. It doesn’t matter how old you are or what you’ve accomplished in your life.

“There’s always that potential your life will change in a very short moment due to the action of some other person,” said Ilene Grosam with the Freeborn County Crime Victims Crisis Center.

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And for this reason, it’s important to support victims’ services to help those people, Grosam said.

“Nobody asks to be the victim of an assault or a robbery,” she said.

To show support for victims of crime and for the organizations that lend them support, people have the opportunity to attend several events being held in the coming weeks by the Freeborn County Crime Victims Crisis Center.

First, tonight at Riverland Community College from 3 to 4 p.m. and then again from 7 to 8 p.m. in Lecture Hall 124, there will be previews of the video “Stop Sexual Violence: Listen and Lead.”

Grosam said the video is a tool for promoting discussion about prevention of sexual violence. After the video is shown, there will be discussion to generate thoughts and responses.

“Sexual violence in Minnesota, it does have a big economic impact when you consider the number of Minnesotans who are harmed by it,” she said.

It is important to work toward prevention of it, but it is also important to assure that victims and survivors of sexual assault can have access to the services they need.

Last week, the Freeborn County Crime Victims Crisis Center distributed prom packs for about 700 juniors and seniors at Glenville-Emmons High School, Alden-Conger High School and Albert Lea High School.

The packs included information about healthy relationships, warning signs, a teen dating bill of rights, said Jenny Habana, liaison with the Domestic Abuse Program.

On Monday at 11 a.m. the Crime Victims Crisis Center will have its kickoff to Crime Victims Rights Week, where a proclamation will be read and two people will be honored for their work for victims in the community. The winners of a coloring contest will also be announced.

Later that evening, from 4 to 7 p.m., there will be an open house at the crisis center to celebrate the organization’s 30th anniversary.

Habana said she wants people to know that the Freeborn County Crime Victims Crisis Center services all victims of crime, not just victims of sexual assault or domestic violence. It services victims of robbery, stalking, harassment, break-ins, vandalism and homicides, to name a few.

Grosam said 30 years ago when the center opened, that was a time when there was grassroots support for building victims’ services. That was when the first federal grants came about that allowed the development of programs. A lot has changed since then.

Last year, the center serviced 800 people throughout the course of the year.

Lastly, on May 4, there will be a volunteer recognition dinner to thank the volunteers within the organization for all their hard work.