MHACG's REACH Center has received funding from the National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators (NAVAA) through a grant from the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), within the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, to promote community awareness of crime victims' rights and services during the 2025 National Crime Victims' Rights Week.
The awarded funding will be used to facilitate art therapy workshops with children within the community for this year's theme: KINSHIP, Connecting & Healing. The goal of this year's theme is to explore how communities and shared human experiences can be at the center of helping people who experience crime heal.
"We encourage everyone to join us in honoring and embracing the theme of kinship as the foundation of victim advocacy."
- David R. Rossetti, LCSW-R
Chief Executive Officer, MHACG
The project is part of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, an annual observance that takes place April 6-12, 2025. MHACG’s REACH & Child Advocacy Centers will kick off the week with events starting on April 4th and will continue throughout the week as part of a Community Awareness Project in Columbia and Greene Counties.
"The support from NAVAA and OVC for our 2025 National Crime Victims' Rights Week activities will help us support victims of crime in our area," said David Rossetti, LCSW-R, Chief Executive Officer for MHACG. "This year's theme of Kinship reminds us that shared humanity must be at the heart of supporting all survivors. By fostering vital connections and expanding access to services, rights, and healing, we can stand with survivors and strengthen our community. We encourage everyone to join us in honoring National Crime Victims' Rights Week and embracing Kinship as the foundation of victim advocacy."
First designated by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, National Crime Victims' Rights Week increases public awareness and knowledge about the wide range of rights and services available to people who have been victimized by crime. Each year, the OVC campaign centers around a theme that showcases the support, resources, and services available. This year's theme of KINSHIP is a state of being with survivors that drives vital connections and increases access to services, rights, and healing. KINSHIP is where victim advocacy begins.
Since 2004, the NCVRW Community Awareness Project has provided financial and technical assistance to more than 1500 community projects that promote victim and public awareness activities, and innovative approaches to victim outreach and public education about victims' rights and services during National Crime Victims' Rights Week.
For additional information about the 2025 National Crime Victims' Rights Week activities or about victims' rights and services in Columbia and Greene Counties, please contact MHACG's REACH Center at 518.943.4482 or visit our website at mhacg.org/reach. For information about national efforts to promote 2025 National Crime Victims' Rights Week, please visit the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) website at ovc.gov.
The National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators is a non-profit organization that represents the 56 state agencies that distribute money from the federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Crime Victims Fund to more than 4,000 direct victim assistance service providers. The money in the Crime Victims Fund comes from fines collected from offenders convicted of federal crimes and is not from U.S. taxpayers.
MHA of Columbia Greene is a leading mental health nonprofit serving the twin counties of Columbia and Greene. We believe mental health is health and we make it our mission to advance mental health as a critical part of the overall health and wellbeing of our communities. Since 1958, MHACG has been a beacon of hope offering mental health recovery and crisis support, peer support, family and child development education, youth mentoring and respite, housing solutions, substance use recovery programs, and supporting survivors of assault, abuse, child abuse and trafficking. We are your bridge to wellbeing, connecting individuals, children, and families with care. To learn more about MHACG, visit mhacg.org.
Comments