Gaining Insight from Real-life Experiences

Personal stories give us the opportunity to understand the thoughts and emotions experienced by victims of crime and their family members. This section of the Guide contains seven stories told by the people who lived them.  These stories are moving and written to assist people in understanding the reality faced by the authors.

These testimonials can be used during National Victims of Crime Awareness Week or throughout the year:

• To provide victims' experiences for articles, letters to the editor, and other media events.
• To include in stories for your organization's newsletters, bulletins, or other publications.
• As anecdotes for speeches or presentations on victim issues.
• To support efforts for volunteer victim services recruitment.