It’s National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. Like many other localities across the Commonwealth and the country, last week the Westmoreland County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution recognizing this event.

First proclaimed in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan, this year marks its 45th anni‑versary and was made with the goal of bringing together all who care about crime, victimiza‑tion, and survivors to acknowledge and honor survivors, their challenges, and their strengths.

Before the proclamation was adopted, Cheryl Reamy, who is director of the Westmoreland County Victim Witness Program, stepped for‑ward to heap praise on the board for supporting her program.

Victim Witness works with the Westmoreland County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, Sheriff’s Office, and the Colonial Beach Police Department, seeking to “ensure that victims’ rights are met per the Code of Virginia during the criminal process,” said Reamy.

She and her assistant are the first people who make contact with crime victims after the response from law enforcement.

“These crimes can be anything from trespass to DUI incidents, sexual assaults, homicides, and anything in between,” stated Reamy. “We work closely with community partners such as The Haven, Department of Social Services, and other non-profits such as Legal AidWorks with the aim of bringing more resources to this area.”

Reamy has also worked with a number of other jurisdictions, including Hanover and King George County, to see what can be done to improve responses. According to her, the Victim Witness Program has broken further ground by being on the forefront for victim witness programs across the Northern Neck and Essex.

“As a rural community, we don’t fall into a particular region, and oftentimes training, resources, and such are far from our jurisdic‑tion— usually Richmond or Fredericksburg, but sometimes as far as Hampton Roads or even Lynchburg,” continued Reamy. “Given that, I took it upon myself five years ago to start holding monthly victim witness directors’ meetings for the Northern Neck and Essex Counties, which allow us to get together and share our ideas on what we have learned.”

Child and adult protective services are among the programs brought back to life on Reamy’s watch, along with the Sexual Assault Response Team. This and numerous other programs eventually moved on to work throughout the entire peninsula and Essex. The supervisors, starting with Vice Chair Jeff McCormack, also praised Reamy.

“I don’t think most folks understand how much of a blessing this program is unless you have to go through something like that and need a victim witness advocate to advocate on your behalf,” McCormack commented. “This is truly a program that we need to continue to support and fund.”

Supervisor Matt Ingram was next to speak up. “I want to say thank you for all that you do. A lot of people use the term ‘victimless crime,’ but I think it’s a load of baloney.

“A lot of times students may not be direct victims of a crime, but they may be living in the household with someone that was, and they carry that burden with them every day,” con‑tinued Ingram. “Sometimes school is the only place they’re safe at. Thank you for all that you do. We need to support this program—our citizens truly need this.”

National Crime Victims’ Rights Week runs from April 19th to the 25th.