Ready to support victims of crime

Determination, empathy, sympathy, dedication and a passion for helping people are just some of the qualities that the Elsburg SAPS Victim Empowerment Centre/Trauma Centre looks for in their volunteers.

The centre, which can be found at the Elsburg Police Station in Nagington Road in Wadeville, opened the doors to its new centre on November 23 with a special ceremony.

“When we first arrived at the new police station we didn’t even have a room for the centre,” explained Wilna Berry, coordinator of the Elsburg SAPS Victim Empowerment Centre/Trauma Centre.

“When we were finally given a space for the centre there was nothing but blank walls.

“But with the help of our sponsors, MBFI in Delmas and Help Busters in Boksburg, we were able to get our centre up and running.

“They donated everything we needed to set-up the centre.”

Wadeville Business Against Crime (WBAC) also assisted the centre by printing business cards and pamphlets.

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Until the official opening of the centre, volunteers continued to work at the station, responding to calls and using the station’s boardroom for counselling sessions, but Wilna is thrilled they now have a proper place to carry out their work.

She further thanked Elsburg SAPS station commander Col Linah Thethe, head of Vispol for Elsburg Lt Col Roelien Opperman and representatives from the Gauteng Department of Community Safety Phumzile Masombuka and Duncan Sibuyi for their support in getting the centre ready.

Now that the Elsburg SAPS Victim Empowerment Centre/Trauma Centre is ready the six volunteers, including Berry, can focus on helping the victims of crime in their precinct.

“The main aim of the trauma centre is to provide immediate service to victims of crime, as well as to take all their needs into account, as this will help them to feel empowered,” said Berry.

“We are there to assist, support and calm the victims and to provide information as to what will happen next.”

To continue to help victims in need, the centre hopes to grow its numbers in the new year.

“We are looking for more volunteers, and will be starting the intake of new volunteers in January,” said Berry.

Interested parties do not need to have any qualifications, but Dave Etherington, from Help Busters, explained a passion for helping people is vital.

“You really need to be passionate about helping people,” said Etherington.

“Some scenes are quite difficult and you also need to be quite strong.

“You cannot expect it to be a normal day’s work.”

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Elsburg SAPS Victim Empowerment Centre/Trauma Centre volunteers, who are each expected to work 16 hours a month, are called to different scenes, which can include house robberies, hijackings, rapes, domestic violence, murders, suicides, bullying and trauma scenes.

Berry explained that each prospective volunteer will have an interview before joining the centre.

“During the interview, we will ask why they want to be a volunteer,” explained Berry.

After this, the successful candidate will be sent for training.

The training, done by Tammy du Plooy from the Alberton Victim Empowerment Centre (VEC), includes modules in trauma, rape, domestic violence and bullying.

Once the volunteer has completed his/her training they will begin working their hours.

Berry explained that for safety reasons, volunteers often go to scenes in pairs.

“The police must also always be on the scene,” Berry explained.

“This is again for safety reasons.

“If we receive a call directly from a victim we will alert the police about the crime before going to the scene, but more often we are called to scenes by the police.”

When on scene, volunteers will use their training to assess the situation and then provide the best support for a victim.

“In the case of rape, we will support and calm the victim as best we can and advise them about what is going to happen next,” explained Berry.

“In some cases, we will accompany them to the Bertha Gxowa Care Centre where evidence will be collected.

“The victim will be accompanied back to our centre, where she will be given a comfort pack and an opportunity to shower.

“We will then start the counselling process.”

Each victim receives two counselling sessions, after which if they need further assistance they will be referred to the relevant specialists.

Victims who cannot afford private counselling or psychology sessions will be referred to the Alberton VEC, who can assist.

“We will also explain during the counselling session the steps going forward, for example, in the case of domestic violence, the victim will need to get a protection order and we will explain this process,” said Berry.

But this isn’t where the centre’s journey with the victim ends, they will still have two follow-up sessions with the victim, after the referral.

Though someone may not be in the centre physically at all times, a volunteer will always be on call.

“We take it in turns to man the centre’s cellphone so that someone is always available,” said Berry.

“When volunteers do their hours at the station, they do not just sit in the centre and wait for calls they will often go and help in the charge office, helping with accident reports, affidavits or certifications.

“Though we cannot legally sign the documents we can help the officers by getting everything in order so they can go through it and sign it.

“Being in the charge office also makes us more visible to the community, as we are always in our official T-shirts with our ID tags.”

In addition to helping victims of crime, the centre’s volunteers also plan and hold various outreach projects and awareness campaigns.

“Some of our outreach efforts included our soup and blanket drive, where we handed out blankets and soup to the homeless in Elsburg,” said Berry.

“We want to continue with our homeless outreach project this December by making up toiletry packages which will be handed out to the homeless.

“We also visit schools where we hand out sanitary towels to girls who cannot afford them.”

To help the centre continue with their work, the community is encouraged to donate items to make up comfort packs, this includes soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, face cloths, clothes, tissues, new panties, deodorant (both spray and roll-on) and sanitary towels.

They are also encouraged to donate sanitary towels for the centre’s school outreach programme.

For more information on the centre, to find out how to become a volunteer or to make a donation, call the centre on 078 708 9965, or send an email to Berry at wilnaberry1@gmail.com.

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Contact the newsroom by emailing: Melissa Hart (Editor) germistoncitynews@caxton.co.za, Leigh Hodgson (News Editor) leighh@caxton.co.za or Ashley Kiley (Journalist) ashleyk@caxton.co.za.

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