Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office names Crime Victims’ Rights Award recipients
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- April 24-30 marks this year’s Crime Victims’ Rights Week. This year’s theme: "Rights, Access, Equity, for all Victims,” embodies the unique challenges experienced by underserved populations in Deschutes County and across the nation, District Attorney John Hummel said Monday in announcing this year's Crime Victims' Rights Award recipients.
This year’s Crime Victims’ Rights Award winners demonstrate the dedication in our county to serve all victims of crime and ensure equal access to services throughout the life of an investigation, criminal prosecution, and beyond.
A huge congratulations to our winners:
· Sari Ourada
Sari is a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) with Rapid Sexual Assault Victim Exam Investigations. Sari treats every single victim/patient and family with the utmost respect, compassion, and equity. She makes them feel welcome, valued, and truly cared for in an environment that can feel unknown and frightening. She takes the time to listen, explains their rights before completing an exam, explains each step of the process thoroughly, and ensures that each family has the necessary follow-up services in place before they leave the hospital. Sari truly embodies the theme of “rights, access, and equity for all victims” and demonstrates this daily through her incredible work.
· Milagros Aparicio
Milagros provides outstanding service to crime victims through her work with the Latino Community Association. Many crimes committed against our immigrant and Latinx community members go unreported, and when they are reported, these victims of crime face challenges with language access and uncertainties with an unfamiliar legal system. This past year, in the midst of the pandemic, which disproportionately impacted our Latinx community and created even more work for LCA, Milagros took on an immense amount of work to support a local Latino man who was assaulted and it was charged as a bias crime. Milagros and the victim decided to use the experience as a way to create more awareness on how belonging begins with all of us, and with the support of LCA and a local videographer, shared his story for Welcoming Week in September 2021. Milagros' work is not just supporting individual crime victims, she visions ways to make a greater impact to the broader community, so that our immigrant and Latinx neighbors know they will be supported and welcomed when they are victims of crime.
· Barbara Hendrix
Barbara (Barb) Hendrix is selected for our Lifetime Achievement/Outstanding service to Crime Victims. Barb served our community for many years in both her capacity as a child therapist and forensic interviewer with the KIDS Center. She served on the Deschutes County child abuse multi-disciplinary team for over 10 years. Barb was passionate about always being available for both victims and their families; she was compassionate, caring, and always made sure they felt heard and understood. Barb was a strong voice for victims of crime as she testified in court as an expert in her field on dozens of occasions. During COID while everything was on lock down, Barb worked with a young victim living out of county because her mother was unable to find a therapist in their community willing to see her. Although Barb is no longer with us, her legacy lives on. Through the families that she served, the lives she touched, all the people that she worked with, and family she loved.
U.S. Attorney's Office Joins in Recognizing 41st Annual Crime Victims' Rights Week, April 24-30, 2022
U.S. Attorney's Office - District of Oregon - 04/25/22 4:05 PM
PORTLAND, Ore.— Every April, the Justice Department’s Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) leads communities across the country in observing National Crime Victims’ Rights Week (NCVRW) to honor crime victims, promote their rights and recognize victim advocates. This year’s observance, the 41st annual commemoration, takes place April 24-30, 2022 with the theme: Rights, access, equity for all victims.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office joins its federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners in taking this opportunity to highlight the importance of providing necessary services at the earliest possible stage of victimization and litigation. Early intervention helps prevent further victimization and encourages victim involvement in the criminal justice system, mitigating the cycle of violence and restoring hope for the future.
“Supporting and seeking justice on behalf of crime victims is central to the mission of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. We see unbelievable examples of victim courage nearly every day in the work we do. Their persistence and resolve, often in the face of incredible adversity, motivates all of us in federal law enforcement to continue vigorously advocating on their behalf,” said Scott Erik Asphaug, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
During National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, victim advocacy organizations, community groups and state, local, and tribal agencies host rallies, candlelight vigils, and other events to raise awareness of victims’ rights and services. This year, several national events are returning in-person, but will continue to feature livestream feeds. On the evening of April 28th, a candlelight vigil will be held on the National Mall near the U.S. Capitol from 3:30-4:30 pm PDT. On April 29th, the National Crime Victims’ Service Award Ceremony will be held at Constitution Gardens National Park on the National Mall from 12:00-2:00 pm PDT. To access a livestream feed for either event, please visit ovc.ojp.gov/live.
OVC and the U.S. Attorney’s Office encourages widespread participation in the week’s events and in other victim-related observances throughout the year. For additional information about this year’s National Crime Victims’ Rights Week and how to assist victims in your community, please visit OVC’s website at www.ovc.gov. For ongoing updates from OVC and ideas throughout the year on how you can support victims, please subscribe to OVC’s email notifications at https://ovc.ncjrs.gov/ncvrw/subscribe/.
If you or someone you know are in immediate danger, please call 911. If you believe you’ve been the target or victim of a crime, please contact your local law enforcement agency or your nearest FBI field office immediately. The FBI Portland Field Office can be reached at (503) 224-4181 or by submitting tips online at tips.fbi.gov.
