LOS ANGELES COUNTY – District Attorney George Gascón thanked the Board of Supervisors Tuesday for approving a grant of more than $180,000 to continue the commitment of the District Attorney’s Bureau of Victim Services (BVS) to assist victims of crime for the Unserved/Underserved Victim Advocacy and Outreach (UV) Program.
“It is our responsibility to make sure that crime victims in Los Angeles County get the essential trauma-informed services they need,” Gascón said. “Helping crime victims is as important to their healing as it is to our community safety. I want to thank the Board of Supervisors for their support as we work together to transform victim services and restore victims of crime.”
The $182,724 grant comes from the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services for trauma-informed victim advocacy and outreach to underserved and unserved victims. The program will continue providing comprehensive services in the City of Los Angeles and unincorporated Los Angeles County; southern parts of the county, including Compton and Long Beach; and eastern portions of the county, including Pomona and Norwalk.
The Bureau of Victim Services is one of the oldest and largest programs of its kind in the United States with victim services representatives who work in courthouses and police stations throughout the county and provide an array of services.
Victim services representatives are available to assist victims in several languages. Services are provided free of charge and there is no legal residency or citizenship requirement. For more information, call the Bureau of Victim Services at (800) 380-3811.
[Information via news release from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.]
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