Goals & Objectives

The organization aims to reach its goals by meeting the following objectives:

Liaising with York Regional Police Service, Ontario Provincial Police and York Region Fire Services to develop and maintain a service to respond to victims 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Recruiting, training and coordinating a corps of community volunteers to be available to respond to persons victimized at the request of the attending police and fire service occurrences/incidents.
Providing emotional support, information and practical assistance to persons victimized by crime or tragic circumstance so as to reduce the trauma of their victimization.
Developing and maintaining the capacity to refer people to appropriate community services.
Enhancing the ability of police and fire services to meet the immediate needs of persons victimized by making them aware of Victim Services of York Region, and the benefits of its proper usage.

To reduce trauma to victims and their families;
To help victims cope with the impact of a crime and/or tragedy;
To ensure victims feel supported by the justice system;
To encourage victims in working cooperatively with the police and justice system;
To assist victims with accessing appropriate support services in the community;
To provide an opportunity for the community to become more involved in dealing with the effects of crime;
To educate and promote victim assistance in the community;
To work towards prevention through education.

Benefits

Victim Services of York Region also has benefits to other community stakeholders, as follows:

Allows police officers and fire services to be able to respond to other occurrences knowing that the needs of the persons who have been victimized are being met.
Decrease of repeat calls, since Victim Services of York Region staff and volunteers are meeting the needs of those who have been victimized by crime or tragic circumstance.
Provides police with accurate and comprehensive information about available community resources and services.
Fosters cooperation with police and fire services and enhances relationships with these services.
Provides satisfaction that the community's needs are being addressed.

Improves coordination between community resources/services and police.
Provides an opportunity for community members to become positively involved in the criminal justice system.
Helps to mobilize crime prevention efforts within the community.
To provide an opportunity for the community to become more involved in assisting people within the community dealing with the effects of crime.
Assures the community-at-large that the needs of those persons who have been victimized by crime or tragic circumstances are being addressed.