October 9, 2000
Texas Baptist Men pilot project delivers aid to crime victims
___By Ken Camp
___Texas Baptist Communications
___DALLAS--A Christian couple sits in a hospital waiting room with a single mother whose 3-year-old daughter was hit by a drunk driver.
___A volunteer repairs broken windows and torn screens for an elderly victim of a home burglary.
___They are members of the SAVE team, an interdenominational victim-relief ministry being piloted in southwest Dallas by Texas Baptist Men. The name is an acronym for "serving, assisting in victim emergencies."
___Texas Baptist Men launched the ministry earlier this year, after extensive planning sessions with representatives from the Dallas Police Department and the Texas district attorney's office.
___City officials encouraged Texas Baptist Men to direct the faith-based volunteer program because of the group's proven ability to mobilize and train volunteers in disaster relief. They asked the group to begin the ministry in one quadrant of the city as a pilot project, with the potential of expanding.
___"In Dallas County alone, there are more than 1 million 911 calls received every year," said Gene Grounds, director of a religious coalition called Victim Relief Ministry.
___Grounds noted other cities report similar statistics, and he already is in conversation with civic leaders outside of Dallas regarding the expansion of the program.
___"When crime occurs, the police arrive--along with paramedics if needed--to deal with the individual incident. When their reports are complete and the situation is stabilized, they leave to continue their jobs. Many times the victim is left with more questions than answers, as well as the personal injury or the injury or death of a loved one," Grounds said. "The primary goal of Victim Relief Ministry is to respond and minister to these people."
___The ministry's mission statement is "to provide a system of faith-based assistance from highly trained volunteers from local churches to reach out to meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of victims of crime."
___The ministry seeks to involve a broad cross-section of volunteers from various faith communities. The governing board of the Dallas-based ministry includes representatives from Texas Baptist Men, Dallas Baptist Association, the local Catholic Diocese, the Salvation Army, the Church of Christ-sponsored Central Dallas Ministries and Metroplex Adventist Community Services.
___Services offered to crime victims include repairs of broken windows and locks, emergency transportation, childcare, and companionship in hospitals, courtrooms and service agencies.
___In addition to meeting the needs of crime victims, the ministry also has responded to other community needs identified by Dallas police officers, Grounds said. When temperatures topped 110 degrees in August, Victim Relief Ministry volunteers helped install air conditioners for some elderly residents.
___A 16-hour certification training class for Victim Relief Ministry volunteers is scheduled Oct. 20-21 at the Salvation Army Disaster Center in west Dallas. Volunteer training also is scheduled each Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Victim Relief Ministry southwest Dallas volunteer center. For more information, contact Grounds at (214) 707-8919.
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