Get the help that you deserve from the Sandton Victim Empowerment Programme
According to the group's chair Siven Naidoo, while it is important for the South Africa Police Service (SAPS) to solely focus on the crime itself, in many case, the victims are felt feeling overwhelmed and in an emotional state.
Even in our most emotional state, standing at the police station, there is someone here for you. The Sandton Victim Empowerment Programme (Vep) is made up of a group of volunteers who offer a free-of-charge service to victims of a crime who may have been left traumatised and require counselling. According to the group’s chair Siven Naidoo, while it is important for the South Africa Police Service (SAPS) to solely focus on the crime itself, in many case, the victims are felt feeling overwhelmed and in an emotional state. “The crime victim is standing there getting pelted with all of these emotions, dealing with SAPS and they can feel a bit lost. This is where we step in and be a bit of an anchor for them during this emotional time,” explained Naidoo. “We are primarily there to make sure that the rights of the victims are looked after as well, he said. The group operates out of the Sandton Police Station.
“The SAPS really welcome our service because it allows them to fully focus on solving the crime. For us to be there and offer a service such as this is really an honour,” added Naidoo.
Due to the circumstances presented by Covid-19 and the national lockdown, the group has been forced to adapt to more digital approach. “After the 25 March, we completely seized all of our services because there was a complete restriction. We knew we needed to get back to helping people so at the end of May, we opted for the telephonic approach,” he said. Naidoo admitted that it may not be ideal but given the current circumstances it is better than nothing at all. “It is less than ideal because when you are counselling a victim of a crime you want to be there, you need to see those nuances of how they react and see the touchpoints of how they react.” The team has encountered a few challenges such as the difficulty in obtaining case files because the station has been closed on a number of occasions due to Covid-19. The decontamination process can sometimes take quite a long time. Naidoo added that the group however remains even more committed to serving the community. Details: Sandton Victim Empowerment Programme Helpline 082 774 7564. https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/278034/get-the-help-that-you-deserve/ https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/196732/volunteers-needed-to-support-victims-of-crime/
