The DMACC Perry VanKirk Career Academy will be among the DMACC campuses honoring crime victims and survivors in a series of free activities April 1-4 in support of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week (NCVRW), which takes place at the end of April this year.
The NCVRW has been observed in Iowa and across the nation every April since 1981, with a goal of raising awareness of crime victims’ issues and rights and introducing community members to available resources and services in their area.
“We are a community first and foremost at DMACC,” said Dr. Samantha O’Hara, a criminal justice professor at the college’s Ankeny campus. “And as a community, it’s crucial that we listen to victims and support them throughout the criminal justice process and beyond. By providing a variety of educational and awareness-building opportunities, our goal is to help everyone feel more connected to available resources and services.”
According to a report from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, there were more than 6.6 million violent victimizations of persons age 12 or older in the U.S. in 2022, up from 4.6 million in 2021. Additionally, only about 42% of violent victimizations were reported to police in 2022, the most recent year with complete data available.
The DMACC activities will be educational and awareness-focused, with participants from DMACC programs in criminal justice, sociology and psychology in the college’s Public and Community Services Pathway; fashion, graphic design and culinary arts in the DMACC Design, Media and Arts Pathway; and welding in the DMACC Engineering and Manufacturing Pathway.
The 2024 NCVRW theme — “How would you help? Options, services and hope for crime survivors” — asks how we can help crime victims. Do you know the services available in your local community? Are you prepared if someone you know tells you about a victimization? Does your organization use trauma-informed strategies? How can we create supportive and safe environments for crime victims to share what happened, access services and perhaps find healing?
DMACC will reflect this theme with a variety of activities between April 1-4 that share information about victims’ rights and resources and underscore the importance of listening to survivors’ voices in every space where decisions are made.
The event at the VanKirk Career Academy will be Wednesday, April 3 from 3-7 p.m., when a series of crime victims’ rights historical panels, created by DMACC graphic design classes, will be displayed, with graphic design student giveaways and light refreshments provided by the Culinary Arts program. The Crisis Intervention and Advocacy Center is hosting the public art event.
Other DMACC NCVRW activities will range from an April 1 presentation in Ankeny on “The Cari Farver Homicide: A Cold Case in the Digital Age” from Special Deputy Anthony Kava with the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s office and as seen in the Netflix documentary, “Lover, Stalker, Killer,” to an April 2 story walk in Boone for the book, “Catching Flight: Soaring on the Wings of Birds,” by Rebekah Lowell to an April 4 domestic violence simulation in Ames presented by Children and Families of Iowa.
A complete listing of planned activities can be found on the DMACC website. Along with the Perry campus, activities are planned at the following DMACC locations:
- Ames Hunziker Center
- Ankeny Campus
- Boone Campus
- Carroll Campus
- Des Moines/Urban Campus
- Des Moines/Southridge Center
- Newton Campus
Collaborating in supporting the observances of NCVRW In addition, the DMACC Boone Campus Social Justice Club, DMACC Campus Chronicle student newspaper, DMACC Criminal Justice Club, DMACC counseling services, DMACC libraries, DMACC Fashion Design Club and DMACC Student Activities Councils are collaborating and supporting the observance.
All the 2024 NCVRW events are free and open to the public.
