Background:

The NC Governor’s Crime Commission (GCC) requested a comprehensive statewide assessment examining the needs of victims of all types of crime and challenges accessing services. This assessment was conducted with a mixed methods approach, consisting of an organizational survey, website assessment, and interviews with service providers and advocates. In collaboration with the Community Advisory Board (CAB), community engaged methods were employed throughout the duration of the study.

The request specified a focus on priority populations, including:

• Individuals with limited English proficiency

• Immigrants with undocumented status and documented status 

• Refugee populations 

• Individuals with disabilities 

• Older adults 

• LGBTQIA individuals 

• Veterans 

• People from religious minority groups

• Teens

• Incarcerated individuals and those under community supervision 

• Individuals who are unhoused/experiencing homelessness 

• BIPOC communities (Black, Indigenous, and all people of color)

• Individuals who have lost loved ones to homicide

Aims:

1) Identify the service needs of victims of crime and describe any variation in needs across priority populations;

2) Identify service availability and variation across regions of the state, and across urban and rural communities;

3) Identify mechanisms for sharing information about service availability;

4) Identify the barriers and challenges to accessing crime victim services;

5) Identify organizations’ training and capacity-building needs to improve crime victim services

Principal Investigator:

Tonya Van Deinse