JULIE BERTRAND/Independent reporter
Every Wednesday morning, Legion members see a group of 10 to 12 people come in, drink coffee, exchange stories and joke around. During that time, three cell phones unobtrusively change hands, signifying the changing of the guard.
These people are advocates with the Heartland Victim Services Unit (HSVU) and they are invaluable assets to the community.
“We provide short-term support, information and referral. It’s for victims of crime or victims of tragedy,” said HSVU coordinator Pat Hamilton.
The unit was incorporated in 1997 and advocates started working in 1998.
Hamilton joined in 1999 and was hired as a parttime coordinator in 2000.
She joined full-time in December 2007.
“We worked under the police umbrella. We work out of police stations,” said Hamilton.
There are presently in Stettler 14 to 15 advocates that go on call in teams of three one week per month.
Two people are on call 24 hours a day, while the third person covers nights and weekends.
“Our calls can be, depending on what and who we’re dealing with, anywhere from a few minutes to hours on end. It depends on the level of support we provide,” said Hamilton.
HVSU’s statistics have more than tripled since its start in 1998. In 2000, total volunteer hours amounted to 1059. In 2010, the figure rose to 4099. In 2000, the total number of files was 57. In 2010, HVSU dealt with 194 files.
“We like to see an increase in our total files number because it means that our services are getting out there,” said Hamilton.
“We’re dealing with more and more victims all the time.”
Training
The path to become a HVSU advocate is quite long and complicated.
People have to commit to being on call on week per month and to complete the core minimum training.
They also have to pass the RCMP security clearance, which is quite thorough.
In the past, Hamilton would do the training herself and open it to new advocates from other units.
Nowadays, the training is done online. It was jointly developed by the Solicitor General and Public Security Ministry and the Justice Institute of British Columbia.
“The good thing about online training is that it standardizes the training all over Alberta,” said Hamilton.
“I really loved doing the training. It was interesting, even though it was a lot of work.”
With so many steps to join, it’s not surprising to learn that very few people have quit HVSU since its beginning.
“It’s not the kind of organization that people join just for a year,” said Hamilton.
“We do a lot of social activities together. We also go for coffee once a week.”
Challenges
Despite having been in Stettler for 13 years, advocates still meet with people that have no idea HVSU existed.
“About 75 per cent of the victims we deal with every year will say that they knew nothing about us. They didn’t know we were here until they needed us,” said Hamilton.
“It’s frustrating.”
Each year, HVSU also has to deal with budgets and funding issues.
“We have to account everything we do to the Solicitor General, every dollar we spend,” said Hamilton.
The unit gets money from FCSS every year.
This year, like many other Stettler organizations, it got much less than it asked for.
“We applied from for $10,000 from FCSS and we only got $2, 000,” said Hamilton.
The shortfall was to be used to pay for advocate training at conferences and workshops.
However, Hamilton is quick to point that FCSS is usually very good to HVSU and that it usually gives them what they ask for.
The unit raises the rest of its funding through fundraisers, casino, and its regimental ball, which happens once every five years.
This summer, it will run the admission gate for the shoot-out at the airport and it will have a 50/50 draw.
“It’s expensive to run this unit,” concluded Hamilton.