Title
Recognizing Victim/Witness Services of South Philadelphia for 30 years of service to victims of violent crime in South Philadelphia.
Body
WHEREAS, Since 1989, Victim/Witness Services of South Philadelphia (V/WSSP) has supported the community by responding to the needs of victims and witnesses throughout South Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, In its 30 years of operation, V/WSSP has provided free services to over 73,000 individuals affected by violence, and in the last decade has recovered over $4,371,000 in Victim Compensation Assistance Program awards. Those funds have provided for victims' expenses including medical costs, therapy bills, loss of earnings, loss of support, relocation, and other crime related expenses; and
WHEREAS, V/WSSP helps victims and witnesses of the 1st, 3rd and 17th police districts of South Philadelphia navigate the criminal justice system. The organization also provides counseling and social service referrals, community education and trauma response, and works to strengthen the relationship between local agencies and communities; and
WHEREAS, V/WSSP's clients reflect the vast diversity of South Philadelphia's communities. Accordingly, V/WSSP staff speak English, Spanish, Vietnamese, French and Cantonese. Moreover, in just the last year, the organization has been able to serve clients in Arabic, Burmese, Cambodian, Chin, Fuzhou, Indonesian, Mandarin, Nepali, Swahili, and Urdu; and
WHEREAS, V/WSSP has created a number of successful programs, such as the Asian Outreach Project and the Latino Outreach Project, which in turn grew into the Immigrant Access Collaborative (IVAC), a partnership with Justice at Work and HIAS-Pennsylvania. Through the IVAC program, they have provided increased victim services, case management, therapy and legal services to immigrant victims citywide; and
WHEREAS, V/WSSP has provided numerous trainings and workshops on issues related to public safety, crime prevention, resources for survivors, the criminal ...
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