Victim Assistance Center Overview

If you have been the victim of a crime or have witnessed a crime, the Sonoma County Victim Assistance Center can help you.

The Victim Assistance Center is dedicated to helping alleviate the trauma and devastating effects of crime on the lives of victims and their families. Victim Assistance staff can help you address the practical problems and complex needs of victimization and make it possible for you to reorganize your life and heal in the wake of crime.

The center is a program of the Sonoma County District Attorney and is funded by a grant from the Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES), and a Joint Powers Contract with the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board.

The Sonoma County Victim Assistance Center provides advocacy to victims of violent crime as they go through the criminal justice system. The center assists victims and families with reimbursement for medical, counseling, funeral, and burial bills, provides appropriate referrals, and assists with emergency needs of victims. The Center assists hundreds of crime victims each year and processes hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation claims.

Victim Advocates provide direct services to the victims. Some of the mandated services that advocates provide are crisis intervention, claims preparation assistance, and resource and referral information. Advocates are also available to provide orientation to the criminal justice system, court escort and support, and follow up counseling.

The Joint Powers Contract funds Victim Claims Specialists, who are responsible for determining the victim's initial and continuing eligibility for the Victims of Crime . The claims staff evaluates the claims based on information obtained from the victim and other sources against specific regulations in order to determine eligibility for the programs.

If you would like to find out more about the center's services call: (707) 565-8250.