NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Organizations that support crime victims are reaching out to the state for help.
The National Crime Victims Fund was cut by $700 million this year, which is causing serious problems in some states.
Johnnie Lynn Lucas, a survivor of a violent robbery in Nashville, said victim services saved her life. "The PTSD and the trauma that I incurred still stays with me to this day even though it's 23 years later," Lucas said.
In 2003, Lucas was brutally beaten during a robbery at the restaurant she managed by the RiverGate Mall. Her attacker was a cook at the restaurant. He beat her so badly with a gun she lost an eye.
As a crime victim, Lucas was offered free counseling, help navigating court proceedings, free therapy, and advocacy. The same services were extended to her husband and daughter, who was nine at the time and traumatized by what happened to her mother.
"When a crime happens to one individual, it has a lasting impact on families as well, and they had things they had to work out, and it was invaluable to my family," Lucas said.
Right now, service providers say they could collapse if they continue to rely on federal funding. The National Crime Victims Fund, which was set up in 1984 by the Victims of Crime Act, is funded by penalties from federal criminals.
But with more plea bargains and fewer trials lately, the fund's balance has dropped. The Biden Administration did pass the VOCA Fix Act, and the federal government is working to rebuild the fund, but that could take years.
Because Tennessee requires victim services, but provides no state funding to them, this week, providers sent a letter to state leaders urging for $25 million in recurring funding to be budgeted for victim services.
"It's really hard to comprehend if you've never been there or someone you love has never been there, and I get that, but until we can figure out a way to create no more victims, these services are desperately needed," Lucas said.
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