Baltimore State's Attorney's Office Expands Victim Support Services
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby on Tuesday announced new and expanded partnerships to support crime victims and witnesses.
The new partnerships will provide additional to support to victims as violent crime rises in the city. According to Mosby's office, homicides are up by 9 percent compared to last year, and non-fatal shootings are up by 25 percent compared to last year.
The SAO announced a new partnership with Springboard Community Services, a Baltimore-based social services organization whose case managers will work with crime victims. The organization provide individual and family therapy to crime victims of all ages.
Springboard Community Services also recently opened a Youth Resource Center for those 14 to 24 to access counseling, workshops and family support, among other needs.
Mosby's office is also expanding its existing partnerships with Lifebridge Health Center for Hope and UMD ROAR.
The Lifebridge Health Center will incorporate:
- The Sinai Hospital-based Violence Response Team provides a 24/7 crisis response program to assist victims of domestic violence, community violence and elder abuse
- The DOVE Program at Northwest Hospital provides case management, protective orders, and counseling
UMD ROAR is the University of Maryland's Rebuild, Overcome, and Rise Center, which hosts peer healing circles for survivors of gun violence. The organization has been working with the SAO for nearly three years.
Mosby's office said its Victim and Witness Services Unit has relocated 1,048 families, offered 7,745 grief counseling sessions, and served 52, 972 victims and witnesses of crime.
"The criminal justice system is ineffective without the trust and cooperation of victims and witnesses of crime, which is why we are committed to ensuring both victims and witnesses feel supported and protected throughout the judicial process and beyond," Mosby said. "We live in the home of witness intimidation, therefore it is important for my office to provide as many resources as possible to those who bravely come forward and help us seek justice."
