Witness Justice

Witness Justice - Advocacy and Assistance for Survivors of Violence and Trauma 1

The History of Witness Justice

Witness Justice was established in 2002 by Helga West and Randy West, two survivors of violence. The Wests used their personal savings and double mortgaged their home to build what they felt would address the needs for survivors regardless of the nature of the violence, when or where a crime occurred, or whether the crime was reported. Witness Justice is now one of the most sought after resources for survivors of violence and trauma in the United States.

AbOUT Witness Justice

Witness Justice is a national, grassroots nonprofit organization serving victims of violence and trauma and their allies. We provide advocacy and direct assistance, along with a wide range of online resources. Witness Justice provides the assistance victims need – addressing questions about healing and the criminal justice process, while providing long-term support.

Assisting Survivors of Violence

Witness Justice is a survivor-driven organization that provides national advocacy and direct victim assistance. We work with Congress and various federal agencies to raise awareness of and find solutions to the problems faced by so many survivors of violence and other trauma.

As a direct service provider, Witness Justice works one-on-one with hundreds of victims each month to address individual struggles and questions that arise in the aftermath. We offer to support, research, and find answers, explanations, information, and resources for survivors who feel “stuck” or “lost” following violence and trauma.

Witness Justice fills gaps in victim services by offering:

• Information for healing • Access to experts • Peer support • Channels of advocacy and activism • Prayer and spiritual support • Support with the criminal justice process • Connection to helpful resources • Understanding through survivor stories • Support for survivors’ family and friends • Consulting and training for service providers

Key Programs

Advocacy – affecting positive change at the highest levels of government through Congressional issue briefings, white papers, and more

Survivors Taking Action – a national advocacy and education program focusing on the nature and impact of trauma and the support needed for healing

Virtual Community – a Web interface for survivors to anonymously connect with peers and experts

Team Heal Trauma – a fund-raising running team focused on raising awareness of the pervasiveness and impact of violent trauma

BlueSpace – a healing arts program aimed at supporting survivors through peer support and art expression

National Prayer and Spiritual Support Program – created to address the spiritual struggles survivors and friends experience in the aftermath

Expert Assistance

Each individual victim’s situation is unique, and many victims need more than crisis intervention and referrals. To provide survivors with the best possible information, we created an Expert Corps of Volunteers to help respond to individual survivor inquiries about the healing process, the criminal justice system, and many other topics. Our experts range from state attorneys to security experts, from mental health professionals to social workers, from sleep researchers to substance abuse counselors – all with experience in trauma and many of whom are considered the leading experts in their field.

WJ Consulting and Training

Witness Justice offers low-cost professional outreach and communications consulting and trauma training for government agencies, local service providers, nonprofits, and others working with survivors of violence.

Our staff includes survivors who are also award-winning public relations professionals. We understand the issues and offer a wide range of services including media relations, marketing, community outreach, public awareness campaigns, materials development, and more. Witness Justice believes in the value of collaboration and can serve as grant proposal partners, as a subcontractor on a grant or contract, or as a periodic resource.

Senior staff provides trauma training with a model developed specifically for crime victim service providers. The training is geared to improve program efficacy and lessen the stress on staff, while providing the support needed for survivors to heal.

Notables

WJ is a managing partner of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CMHS’s National Center for Trauma-Informed Care.

WJ is a member of the U.S. House Crime Victim’s Rights Caucus Advisory Group.

The WJ Web site (www.witnessjustice.org) receives more than 200,000 hits each month.

WJ has received the Health on the Net Foundation Code of Conduct (HONcode) award for reliability and credibility of medical and health information on the Internet.

WJ has received a Daily Point of Light Award from the Points of Light Foundation.

John Walsh publicly endorsed WJ, starring in a television public service announcement.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services asked WJ to develop white papers on pressing issues for trauma survivors.

WJ is frequently contacted by national news venues to comment on crime victim and trauma issues.