The ACT's longest running victims of crime support group fears that the loss of nearly $200,000 in government funding will leave many of its clients out in the cold.
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The Victims of Crime Assistance League was set up by the families of murder victims 24 years ago, to aid those affected by crime, giving them practical support to deal with trauma and the onerous processes of court.
But the organisation lost a major contract to provide victim support services in the ACT late last year. That contract was lost to a government agency in an open tender process that began when VOCAL applied to increase its funding past a threshold of $200,000.
Now, VOCAL service coordinator Marie-noelle Cure´ is worried that the organisation's future is in jeopardy.
Ms Cure´ said the victims that her organisation helped were angry and frustrated by the decision, feelings that could have potentially dangerous consequences. ''People start taking matters into their own hands when they don't get justice, when they don't get a sense that anyone is acknowledging,'' Ms Cure´ said.
''They don't want to go to the government, some of them will have nothing to do with the government,'' she said.
The loss of funding has greatly impacted the not-for-profit organisation, which had already been operating with few staff and a tight budget. It has been forced to let go two paid staff since losing the contract, leaving it with just two part-time employees and volunteers.
VOCAL had lost the tender for victim support services to Victims Support ACT, an agency run by the ACT Government.
Attorney-General Simon Corbell said VOCAL was no longer the only organisation that could effectively provide support to victims of crime. But Ms Cure´ said the services offered by the government agency were limited and ineffective. ''We are not hearing good things from the community and our clients,'' she said. ''Choice has certainly been removed now because [victims] are certainly being told that there is a one-stop shop.''
Ms Cure´ said VOCAL had been pushed out of the sector intentionally. She said it had not received a single referral from Victim Support ACT between 2000 and 2010.
''They would prefer victims go without any services and we see them later on, they've struggled, they've looked around, and found us by their own means,'' she said. ''They tell us 'we were never told about you'.''
Ms Cure´ wants the ACT government to review the victim compensation arrangements to make the system more equitable and fair.
