Supporting the victims of crime

By Gordon Lambie
Supporting the victims of crime

Being the victim of a crime, regardless of what it is, is hard enough without also having to navigate the complexities of the justice system afterwards. Fortunately, the Crime Victims Assistance Centres, or CAVACs, are here to help. Created as a result of the Act respecting assistance for victims of crime in 1988, each regional CAVAC works with experts from the legal community, health and social services networks and community organizations to provide support and front-line services to any crime victim or witness in his or her mother tongue. In Sherbrooke, the CAVAC was founded in 1991. According to Karine Gagnon, the Executive Director of the Estrie Region’s CAVAC, the organization has three ways of connecting with victims. People can contact the CAVAC directly, they can be referred by their local police service, and the centre does outreach in the form of letters to people who are known to be connected to criminal cases. See full story in the Wednesday, May 15 edition of The Record.

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