Coordinating a Safe Haven

Establishing CCTV sites for victim viewing necessitates coordinating emotional support and victim services at each viewing location. The primary responsibility for coalitions is to ensure consistent, high-quality services across all viewing sites. Specifically, this involves—

• Supporting local councils and agencies in executing their mission through training, technical assistance, and communication links.
• Advancing a core set of services to be available to victims at all sites and supporting local customization in methods and mechanisms for providing services.
• Preparing local teams and volunteers to address vicarious trauma⁶ that may result from exposure to victims during a trial and to minimize its long-term negative effect on individuals and communities.
• Providing coordination between local site leadership and the U.S. Attorney's Office (USAO) and a centralized method for communicating with other groups (e.g., U.S. Marshals Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, media, and donors).
• Coordinating the design and implementation of program evaluations across all sites to capture effective practices and opportunities for followup and improvement in future efforts.

Community coalitions serve as the point of contact for the USAO for training and ongoing technical assistance that focus on—

• Planning and implementing direct victim services.
• Providing information to victims on their interaction with and rights concerning the media.
• Coordinating standardized, consistent services among multiple viewing locations.
• Providing Safe Haven security.