Victim Support to reorganise as voluntary group

Victim Support, the voluntary assistance service for people affected by crime, says the organisation has been restructured and is to embark on a new recruitment campaign.

The organisation's annual general meeting on Saturday heard that a new national contact phone number - 1850-661771 - has been put in place to assist victims of crime.

Victim Support chairman Tom Coleman said yesterday that it was going to revert to being a voluntary organisation.

Victim Support some time ago closed down a number of its offices around the State and let several staff go.

Mr Coleman said Victim Support currently had 17 branches in 16 counties and close to 200 volunteers. It was the organisation's intention eventually to develop its support structure to cover all 26 counties.

A recruitment campaign would be launched and Victim Support in Northern Ireland had agreed to provide training for some volunteers.

"Victim Support is going to revert to the strong voluntary ethos that served it so well in the past," Mr Coleman said.

"We will be concentrating on our training and communications efforts in the 16 counties where we have a vibrant volunteer presence."

He added that the organisation was at its strongest when it was primarily volunteer-based and that it was the ambition to position it very firmly within the voluntary tier.

A feature of the organisation in the past had been the strong positive relationship which existed with the Garda and courts system.

"We will be seeking to strengthen and re-energise that in the months ahead as there is no doubt that the absence of committed victim support volunteers is keenly felt in many Garda districts," Mr Coleman said.

Victim Support is also to carry out a survey of the needs of crime victims over the coming year.