Quote:
Originally Posted by BarryRX
Out of curiosity, I went to my search engine and googled "florida victims" and the first thing that came up is the Attorney Generals website for victims. Why does anyone need a special link when it is so easy to find from any search engine? I know you are very passionate about this cause, and I support it 100%. I just wonder if technology has made your crusade obsolete.
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It is more about respect for victims/survivors now and showing them that they are welcome in your library or Sheriff's Department.
http://myfloridalegal.com/directory
I am thinking back to when I was going through all those libraries looking for practical materials while walking through the wake of the Michelle Mitchell 2-24-1976 murder. There was/is a reference librarian there who can help people find the right materials but how many victims/survivors of crimes would have the courage to go up and ask the reference librarian for help when they probably have not reported whatever they are going through to the police yet? It is 911 for instance not 911-444-5555. Many crimes are still not reported because of the fear of the victim that he/she will be embarrassed, judged, etc. I knew law students at the University of Minnesota who had been victims of crimes and never reported what happened to them because of fear of humiliation, etc. Some of these crimes were committed by law student on law student for instance.
And, there is a great deal more to my work of the past 38 years or so than just the FL Victim Services Directory. I started this journey around February 28, 1976 when I went to the Washoe County Public Library looking for materials on crimes and criminal investigation. Basically, I was trying to force a dialog between the victim assistance providers and the law, public, medical and other libraries. This was/is international, too. I am quite sure it is happening now. I have told my story on many media not just Findlaw and TOTV.
I did get a forgiveness for a Stipend Grant from the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education (WICHE) for work I did from Minnesota, Illinois, Florida, and mainly California. This Act of Forgiveness was around 2000. This Stipend Grant was for finances toward getting my Masters Degree from the University of Denver Graduate School of Librarianship and Information Management (Class of May, 1984). The Grant required me to work in the State of Nevada for a period of time or pay them back the money they loaned me for getting my MA. I sent them enough documentation that they forgave the loan because they saw that I had done worthwhile work even if I had only been in Nevada for the Law Library Convention of 1989 in Reno, NV as well as for an interview at the Washoe County Law Library @ February 1994. Of course, they might have just wrote me off as a bad investment, but I did not get that impression from the correspondence I had had with this interstate agency.