Cass County group ministers to crime victims
A newly formed assistance program for crime victims is currently guided by four volunteers.
Cass County’s Victim Relief Ministries is up and running but hoping to find additional volunteers, founders Nelson and Robin Gagne said.
“We would love to have people join with us,” Nelson said while manning a large yellow tent in the vendor area at the recent Atlanta Forest Festival.
“We want people to know about us. That’s why we’re here at the festival,” Robin said.
VRM is a helpful concern for victims and is a faith-based partnership of community volunteers with law enforcement and emergency responders.
The local chapter began here in January after an eight-month, education-and-training process that Gagne underwent in Dallas at the corporate offices of Victim Relief Ministries. He learned about the national ministry wheile attending a Nazarene Church conference there.
“I heard about it, about how it helps victims who are often left out of follow-up support that’s available to first responders and even to the criminals themselves, but so often not to the victim,” Nelson said.
“When I heard, I decided this is something I must do. I’m retired, so I can do it. I can volunteer. This is exactly what Christianity is about.”
Gagne took the training and then achieved a memorandum of agreement in January with Cass County to be of help when called upon by emergency personnel.
To be a VRM volunteer starts within one’s local church.
“You are given a letter of recommendation from the pastor, then we’ll come to you and the church to help everyone understand the levels of training that are offered. The first level is Neighbors’ Keepers, then First Responders and even a chaplains’ level. These are offered at various times. It takes six months or more to go through the training.”
Such training offers one-on-one support for victims of crime, which may be emotional, physical or spiritual.
VRM was founded in 1999 by concerned citizen Gene Grounds as a nondenominational but faith-based effort to follow the parable of the Good Samaritan in the Bible. The volunteers wear yellow shirts and jackets that are clearly marked. Gagne emphasizes they work hand-in-hand with law enforcement and do not deploy unless called upon.
“Often when police leave, victims are left picking up the pieces of their lives, wondering what’s next. That’s where we try to help,” he said.
Nelson Gagne may be reached by telephone at 903-669-1685 or at P.O. Box 763, Atlanta, TX 75551.