Support service that cares in bleak times

It is easy to be dismissive of the idea of Victim Support if you do not know what they do. One crusty politician who was around when the service was introduced remarked, “law enforcement used to give you justice, now they give you a hanky”.

Victim Support does much more than that, as the series we begin today will illustrate. Victim Support fills a role that police have always been expected to provide along with the primary responsibility for investigating crime and bringing offenders to justice. Victim support was probably the hardest part of the task for constables who had to deliver terrible news to the relatives and families of people killed or badly hurt.

Today, that part of the task is done by volunteers who can focus on nothing else but these victims’ emotional and material needs.

In the case we feature today, Neil Bond arrived home from work to learn his wife had been killed in her car when a truck reversed on to her. He learned the news from a Victim Support volunteer who was with police waiting at his home.

She knew what to do to help him through the initial shock and kept a close eye on him and his children through the days, weeks, months and years ahead.

Victim Support has become so entrenched in our system that most people probably supposed their taxes pay for it all. Not so. The providers are volunteers and their service relies on fundraising. Our series tells you how to donate. It is well worth doing so.