Support group for Waimarino victims formed

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 12, Issue 542, 28 June 1994, Page 4

Support group for Waimarino victims formed

Following a meeting held late last year a steering committee was formed in the Waimarino with a view to establishing a Victim Support Group for this area. That committee has now met on a number of occasions and have reached the point where an application has been made to register the Waimarino Victim Support Group as an Incorporated Society. The next step to be taken is to hold the first Annual General Meeting at the Waimarino Victim Support Group. It is intended to hold that meeting in the Lounge of the Waimarino Golf Club at 7.30pm on the evening of Friday 1 July andaninvitation is extended to all inter-

ested people to attend. At that meeting, which will be addressed by Trish Pupard, the coordinator of the Taupo/Turangi Victim Support Group. The advantages of a victim support group and how a group functions will be be explained. Then it is intended to call for nominations from those prepared to join the incorporated society to form a Management Committee. The first tasks of the committee will be to identify both a coordinator and volunteers to undertake the day to day tasks of this group. "Once these people are identified and have undertaken the necessary training we will have a Victim Support Group in this area

which will be a valuable asset to the community as a whole," said a spokesperson. World trend Following a world wide trend, communities all around New Zealand are becoming more aware of the needs of victims of crime. Victim Support groups have been setup now in most towns and cities throughout the country. A victim support group consists of a number of volunteer workers, supervised by a co-ordinator. They are specially trained to work with victims. "Becoming a victim of crime represents a crisis in confidence both in ourselves and in the world around us. The ability to

make decisions and take control of our lives is temporarily lost. We feel powerless, vulnerable, and wonder if we will ever feel safe again," said a spokesperson. Victim support offers immediate support, or what is called 'crisis intervention' . to those people in the community who have suffered as a result of a crime. Immediate support is offered to victims and their families, to limit the effect of their crisis and to quickly return their lives to a desired degree of stability. Victim support is not an alternative to the other specialist support services or agencies already operating. "Our position is to act

immediately, on a police referral, to give support to the victim, to work alongside these groups to support their work, and to refer the victims to an appropriate counselling service or support agency as required." "We accept that the use of the word 'victim' ' to de-

scribe someone can be negative. Our philosophy therefore, is to assist people to move from the 'victim' role to the 'survivor' role. The 'victim' role is best described as when a person' s life is ruled by an offence committed against the victim and its after-effects

i.e. constant feelings of being scared, violated, vulnerable or intimidated, whereas a 'survivor' role is when a person has learnt to live with the offence, and has control over the aftereffects of the crime i.e. feeling secure and strong, and no longer afraid.