Victim Assistance

The Senior Victim Advocate Program was created to meet the needs of crime victims 60 years of age & over in Pasco & Pinellas Counties.

Being a crime victim is an upsetting experience for everyone, but it is especially traumatic for the older adult.

What is a Victim Advocate?
A Victim Advocate is a link between the victim and the criminal justice system. A Victim Advocate provides the tools that allow crime victims to reconstruct their lives and regain the control that was taken from them by the criminal.

How We Can Help
Victim Assistance services include:

• Information & Referrals to Community Resources
• Crisis Counseling
• Transportation & Accompaniment to Court Related Activities
• Assistance with Property Return
• Assistance with Completing Victim Impact & Victim Compensation Forms Emergency Legal Advocacy
• Criminal Justice Support

The older adult may have been a victim of domestic violence, assault, elder abuse, robbery, economic crime, or exploitation. The Victim Advocate can help the victim at any stage of the criminal justice process, or help to initiate a complaint to the proper state or county authority.

As a Victim You Have the Right to:

• be free from fear, threats, or intimidation
• be informed of available compensation
• know the status of the case against your offender
• be informed of social service agencies which can help you
• be assisted by criminal justice agencies
• be treated with dignity, compassion, and respect

Safety Phone Project

The goal for the Safety Phone Project is to enhance the safety of senior crime victims and seniors at-risk of becoming victims of crime with the use and access of emergency only 9-1-1 through donated cell phones.

Victim Advocates are available to take donations of no longer used cell phones from the public. These phones are then tested to see if they are usable for 9-1-1 and distributed. Program volunteers assist with this project.

For more information on the Safety Phone Project and how to donate or receive a 9-1-1 phone, click here.