By Lynn Nixon

National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, which was founded in 1981 to promote awareness of crime victim issues and the rights that victims have through the criminal justice system, was April 10-16. Counties and municipalities throughout New Jersey held events in recognition of the time-honored tradition and to support its crime victims and their families.

In New Jersey, “a violent crime is committed every 21 minutes and 30 seconds,” according to the New Jersey State Police 2013 Uniform Crime Report. “There were 192,914 offenses in 2013 — 401 of which were reported murders — resulting in 21.8 victims for every 1,000 permanent inhabitants of the state,” according to the report.

“Based on the number of reported crimes in our area, anyone can be a victim, and it has a huge impact on the people in our communities,” said Joan Nixon, coordinator of the Office of Victim-Witness Advocacy for the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office. “Family members, co-workers, friends and neighbors of crime victims get thrown into a life-altering situation that can be emotionally devastating. They often don’t know about the resources available to help them through the healing process.”

The New Jersey Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office held two events to bring the Passaic County community together.

The Family Violence and Crime Victims’ Summit took place Wednesday, April 20. The event was hosted by Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and was structured to educate attendees about victims’ rights, legal issues surrounding family violence and the services and resources available to victims and their families.

The Office of Victim-Witness Advocacy hosted its 19th Annual Candlelight Vigil Sunday, May 1. The event was designed to honor and support those whose lives have been affected by crime.

“These events are an opportunity for all segments of the community to come together and show support for victims of crime in Passaic County,” Nixon said. “We encourage law enforcement, the faith-based community, advocates, elected officials, students, victims and victim survivors to attend.”

The Candlelight Vigil included words of welcome from the county prosecutor, Camelia M. Valdes, testimonials by three victims or survivors and a candle-lighting ceremony to acknowledge those whose lives have been lost due to a violent crime. About 250 people attended the vigil with the majority in attendance being family members of homicide victims.

“One of the things that family members of homicide victims go through is that no one wants to talk about what happened,” Nixon said. “So part of the goal when you have someone stand up and share their story is to empower them and also to empower the audience to see that, while their lives are never going to be the same, they can move forward, and they are not alone.”

At the conclusion of the vigil, the overhead lights were darkened and the attendees lit their battery-operated candles which illuminated the auditorium. The room fell still as the candles flickered, and the names of all Passaic County homicide victims from the past year were read aloud. Tears streamed down the cheeks of many while each victim was honored. Strangers bonded over their shared grief, and new friendships were born.

“It’s a moving moment; I cried like a baby,” said Diana Garrera, an annual attendee of the vigil. “It feels painful and hopeful at the same time. I think these events really provide something for these people as they deal with their loss.”

The theme of this year’s NCVRW was “serving victims, building trust, restoring hope.” Passaic County, New Jersey, is well on its way to accomplishing just that.