Jacob Ogles
A Florida organization, Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice, will rally survivors of violent crime to vote and reach out to elected officials involving improvements to the justice system. The rare bipartisan get-out-the-vote effort aims to put victims front and center with a movement around reform.
Both Republican Senate President-Designate Wilton Simpson and Democratic Sen.-elect Shevrin Jones announced their involvement in the #HealTheVote Florida initiative.
“If you’re not voting, you’re not giving yourself the opportunities you deserve,” said Simpson. “Citizens through the last two centuries have died fighting for these rights that we could go cast a vote and pick our leadership. It’s one of the most important things you’ll ever do as an American.”
Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice, a project of the Alliance for Safety and Justice, plans to encourage 14,000 survivors of violence to vote and lobby leaders about ways to fund better victim services and trauma recovery, while also pursuing strategies of prevention, rehabilitation. Mental health treatment, restorative justice and other safety programs.
In Florida, some 67% of citizens have suffered a traumatic experience at the hands of violent crime. But CSSJ leaders say just 16% of those felt supported by the criminal justice system. That shows a shortcoming of the current approach, activists suggest.
“As a violent crime survivor, you want to believe that the systems in place are doing the best they can to support you in your path to recovery,” said Megan Hobson, a Crime Survivors who survived a 2012 shooting in Miami. “That’s why it’s so important to elect leaders who put our recovery needs front and center on the ballot. Funding community-based support and trauma recovery centers is a good way to start.”
A forum was held in Texas last week as part of the #HealTheVote launch, and more events will be held in Ohio, Illinois, Arizona, New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania and California, all in hopes of mobilizing 100,000 survivors and their families to vote.
“Too often, the only political power we have is raising our voices through our votes, so we can’t waste any opportunity to do that,” said Jones. “The ability to vote means something. It means you are seen, and heard and your voice matters.”
Survivors themselves know that well, and encouraged those with similar histories to become involved.
“I know firsthand that the trauma and grief I experienced can’t be dealt with alone,” said Queen Brown, a Crime Survivor who lost her son to gun violence in October 2006.
“We need real solutions to trauma recovery for survivors and their families. By having access to these life-changing resources, it makes it possible for survivors to come out on the other side. That’s why we have to vote.”
