Victims Inc. needs your help to help local people facing trauma
ROCHESTER — Pat Rainboth informed her physical therapist in 2021, after a fall, that her goal was to get back to work at 82 years old. The therapist said he had never had that as a goal for someone her age but they set out to meet that goal. Pat Rainboth is now manning her desk at Victims Inc. in Rochester every day.
Rainboth founded Victims Inc. in October 1991. Her mission began after stopping at a crash that killed a child. Victims Inc. provides support for victims of crime, crashes and trauma in Rockingham and Strafford counties.
“I had to make it back,” Rainboth said. “COVID had already hampered so much of the services we provide that now that masks are down and face to face is possible again, I needed to get back to work so those families we support had what is needed to move through the losses they endure and to continue walking families through the maze toward justice.”
Rainboth and her volunteers respond to incidents such as suicide, overdoses, fatal accidents, and other untimely deaths to provide support and compassion in the immediate and critical moments following a sudden loss. They also reach out after the incident by providing information and keeping track of what's happening if an untimely death moves into the criminal justice system.
“Many people who called to volunteer for our program have had to face their own grief and loss at some point and the impulse to pay it forward is great. They know someone was there for them and they want to ensure the same for others,” Rainboth said.
Victims Inc. starts training a new batch of volunteers this fall. Rainboth trains people over a series of weeks and helps them gain an understanding of the dynamics happening in people's worst moments and how to have the confidence to show up and guide people through the difficult decisions and conversations necessary after an untimely death.
“Once you begin this work, you understand that there's not a greater honor than to be trusted with people's pain,” Rainboth said.
More information:
● Victims, Inc.
● (603) 335-7777
● pat.rainboth@victimsinc.org