MumofmurderedMoira in support services plea
THE mother of a murder victim will meet with justice secretary Michael Matheson to demand better services for bereaved families.
As first told in the Evening Times in January, Bea Jones wrote to Holyrood’s Justice Committee in despair at the lack of support for the relatives of murder victims.
Mr Matheson read her letter and agreed to a meeting to discuss what the Scottish Government can do to improve services.
That meeting is due to take place at Holyrood tomorrow.
Mrs Jones, who founded The Moira Fund in her daughter’s name, said: “We are hoping that change will come.
“We hope that there will be improvements in the services for victims’ families and that these will be organised in a better way.
“I’m looking forward to the meeting with Mr Matheson and I’m certainly very clear in my head about what I want to say to him.”
The Moira Fund supports families of those who have been murdered.
The charity gave £10,000 to “prop up” Victim Support Scotland’s (VSS) victim fund.
The letter Mrs Jones wrote to the Justice Committee criticised the Scottish Government for failing to provide a similar service to that of England and Wales.
It read: “We work closely with the Homicide Support Service in England and Wales.
“This provides one-to-one support for victims’ families with the dedicated Homicide Case Worker [HCW] liaising on behalf of the family with Police, funeral directors, courts, employers, schools, social services, counsellors etc.
“The HCW will remain in contact with the family for 12-18 months and should any needs arise during that time which cannot be met by official funds then we will be asked to help.
“Our response has always been a positive one.
“Sadly, there is no such service in Scotland and there are gaps within the services available as well as between them.”
Moira, who was 40, was dragged from near her home into Queen’s Park where she was raped and killed.
Her death, in 2008, devastated her mother and father, Hu, but the couple went on to found The Moira Fund.
Mrs Jones’s letter adds: “As a victim I know only too well the ongoing pain, grief, shock and bewilderment which will be experienced by other victims and how important it is that they are given both the practical and emotional support they need.
“I become agitated just thinking about those who are not getting this help, who are let down because help agencies are not joined up, or not run efficiently.”