$380M will go towards victim services in NYS
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Nearly $380 million over the next three years will be going towards a wide variety of programs to help New York crime victims and survivors.
Bea Hanson, the Director of the New York State Office of victim services said the $380 million dollars will be allocated towards 250 different services dedicated to helping those impacted by crimes.
"These are community-based organizations, prosecutors' offices, law enforcement offices to help victims of child, abuse, domestic violence, sexual abuse, and gun violence," explained Hanson.
Among the programs receiving money are ones that help survivors decide whether they want to press charges against their abuser.
"If you do, we can accompany you to court. We can accompany you to the police to help you with that. If you don’t want to, that’s okay too. Some people they’re concerned about law-enforcement because of their immigration status or the experiences that they’ve had that have been negative with the police, so we want to make sure people get their services even if they don’t want to go to law-enforcement. "
She said the money also helps fund counseling services, even if the crime didn’t happen recently.
"Often with sexual assault, people doing really think about needing counseling and wanting that right away," said Hanson. "They might come back years later and we can still cover that or someone who’s had a physical injury and needs a wheelchair or need some kind of modifications in their home, we can do that kind of work as well."
For more, You can watch the full interview on Empire State weekly this Sunday.