At picnic for Baton Rouge crime victims, district attorney tries to show where, how to find help - The Advocate

Reaching out to a support group was the last thing on Rhonda G. Wilson’s mind in June 2007, when her daughter Kenya Gillingham died in a wreck caused by a driver under the influence of both alcohol and medications.

Wilson didn’t want help; she was angry. Her 28-year-old daughter — an environmental scientist at the Department of Environmental Quality who had recently returned to school with hopes of becoming a pediatrician — had been taken from her suddenly.

“I miss my baby every day,” Wilson said. But she said she got over the anger she initially felt once she embraced the support of Mothers Against Drunk Driving and her church, Living Faith Christian Center.

Wilson shared her experiences with others at a picnic Saturday for crime victims and their families at Gus Young Park in the Eden Park community. The East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney’s Office has hosted the picnic each spring for the past four years.

DA’s office staffers, who raffled off elaborate Easter baskets they had decorated and filled with treats, joined community organizations and law enforcement agencies to provide information about help available to those affected by crime.

Another goal of the picnic, which came at the end of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, was to uplift victims and honor their strength, said Kristen Raby, director of victim services for the DA’s office. She said victims face many challenges others may not notice, but that can make it hard to carry on with life.

“The main struggle that I see is the time it takes to actually get to a trial date. … It’s very difficult because it can go on past two years,” Raby said, adding that the court system is often a source of frustration that can deepen the pain of friends and relatives waiting to see justice served.

Victim assistance coordinators in the DA’s office try to assure victims and their families that they haven't been forgotten, Raby said. They keep victims abreast of upcoming court dates, and when needed, they also provide emergency financial assistance, help victims make a safety plan or move to another location, and point them to other resources available from community groups.

“If they need something, we’re there for them,” Raby said.

District Attorney Hillar C. Moore III said working with victims and the family members of victims is just as significant to stemming crime’s effect on communities as investigations, arrests and prosecutions.

If victims are to rebuild their lives, he said, they need support as they begin to cope with their new realities.

“Victimization lasts for generations,” he said. In the case of a homicide, “every time you have a family event — a graduation, wedding, Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving — there’s always an empty chair.”

Or, in domestic violence situations, Moore said, those gatherings may force a victim to be around an abuser once again. That’s why it is important that people watch for and report warning signs of domestic violence, such as grabbing someone around the neck, Moore said.

“The next encounter could be fatal,” he said.

A few recent shootings in Baton Rouge have stemmed from domestic violence, including that of April Peck in November, Tangela Detiege in December, Asha Davis in January and Angela Gabriel in February. Peck, Detiege and Davis died; Gabriel survived, but is now paralyzed.

Louisiana ranks in the top 5 states for domestic violence, said Amy Onxley, a case manager at the Iris Domestic Violence Center, which provides shelter and legal aid to victims. Recent months have been busy, she said, possibly because of stress caused by the August flood.

“Domestic violence is about someone who is about power and control,” Onxley said. “And when you have high-stress situations where someone’s losing that control,” it could spiral into violence.

It can be hard to ask for help.

Onxley said it takes women an average of seven attempts before they leave an abusive relationship for good. Sometimes the hesitance comes from hoping things will get better, she said, while other victims worry about what will happen to their children.

Onxley said victims can call Iris as many times as they want, and “we will always provide safe refuge.”

Knowing that someone cares can make all the difference in recovering from the trauma of crime, said Wilson, whose daughter died in the wreck with the impaired driver.

“There are all kinds of facilities, organizations out here that they can join. … I pray that God would send the right person so they’re in the right place so they can get some help,” Wilson said.

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