Elevando a la próxima generación de líderes juveniles
Save the Victim Advocacy Corps: Help Us Shape the Future of Victim Advocacy
It is with great sadness that we share the Justice Department has abruptly terminated grant funding for NOVA’s Victim Advocacy Corps (VAC).
The Victim Advocacy Corps (VAC) aims to elevate the next generation of youth leaders in victim services. Our student fellows are young advocate leaders who are committed to bridging gaps in victim services and the criminal justice system by fostering accessibility, equity, and inclusion. Provided with mentorship and training, our student fellows are currently participating in a nine-month, paid field placement in a local victim service agency. NOVA is so proud of their impact and service.
NOVA is prepared to fight for this visionary program that we believe can and will change the future of victim advocacy. Please help us continue this program to expand victim services and elevate young advocates across the country. Make a donation today.
Establecer un modelo nacional para la defensa de los jóvenes
The Victim Advocacy Corps aims to elevate the next generation of youth leaders in victim services. This program will give student advocates the opportunity to bring their fresh perspectives, ingenuity and critical support to the field of victim services. Our student fellows—hailing from communities throughout the United States—are young advocate leaders who are committed to bridging gaps in victim services and the criminal justice system by fostering accessibility, equity, and inclusion.
This visionary pilot program—developed in partnership with an Advisory Committee of student survivors, evaluators, college campuses, and subject matter experts—will establish a national model for engaging diverse youth leaders in victim services. Over the next three years, NOVA will work with the Advisory Committee to hold listening sessions, develop curriculum, and provide training and mentorship to our inaugural cohort of student fellows, who will participate in a nine-month, paid field placement in a local victim service agency.
The Student Fellows
Hailing from Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) across the United States, the 2024 Victim Advocacy Corps Student Fellows represent a variety of identities and bring their unique experiences and perspectives to the field of victim advocacy.
Janeese Brisbo (she/her/hers)
Colegio Aaniiih Nakoda
Harlem High School
Shaina Rae Barrows (she/her/hers)
Colegio Aaniiih Nakoda
Family Healing Center
Ian Bolden (he/him/his)
Colegio Comunitario de Coahoma
Family Crisis Services
KeiJuan Neese (he/him/his)
Colegio Comunitario de Coahoma
Colegio Comunitario de Coahoma
Saniyah Turner (she/her/hers)
Colegio Comunitario de Coahoma
Colegio Comunitario de Coahoma
Priscilla Berrios (she/her/hers)
Gallaudet University
FAIR Girls, Inc.
Kayden Williams (he/him/his)
Gallaudet University
DC Crime Victims Compensation Program
Krishna Lund-Brown (them/their/their & he/him/his)
Regis University
NOVA
Sophie Anderson Haynie (she/her/hers)
Universidad de Nuevo México
UNM Women’s Resource Center
Thanh Nguyen (she/her/hers)
Universidad de Nuevo México
New Mexico Asian Family Center
Sicilee Silversmith (she/her/hers)
Universidad de Nuevo México
Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women
Felicia Tuchman (she/her/hers)
Universidad de Nuevo México
NOVA
Brianda Vasquez (she/her/hers)
The University of Texas at El Paso
UTEP Campus Advocacy, Resources, and Education Office
Aldo Jafet Perez Flores (he/him/his)
The University of Texas at El Paso
UTEP Campus Advocacy, Resources, and Education Office
We invite you to learn more about the Victim Advocacy Corps and youth leadership in victim services by checking out our new video!
“Es importante tener voces jóvenes al frente de nuestro movimiento. Como sobreviviente de violencia sexual y doméstica, la defensa ha sido una forma de curación; El activismo es para mí una forma de recuperar la capacidad de actuar después de experimentar tanto trauma y violencia”.
– Kaylyn Ahn, Survivor-Advocate, Victim Advocacy Corps Advisory Committee Member
Nuestros socios del campus representan una variedad de comunidades y perspectivas: Colegio Aaniiih Nakoda, Colegio Comunitario de Coahoma, Gallaudet University, Regis University, Universidad de Nuevo México, y el Universidad de Texas en El Paso son instituciones que prestan servicios a minorías y que han demostrado un fuerte compromiso para apoyar a estudiantes de comunidades históricamente marginadas.
We are excited to work with the universities to uplift and celebrate the voices of students and survivors by giving them a path into victim services. As of Spring 2025, our 14 Victim Advocacy Corps Student Fellows have been placed at 13 community agencies across the United States and have collectively devoted more than 3,000 hours of service to survivors in their communities.
Learn more about the Victim Advocacy Corps
The Victim Advocacy Corps is a pilot program led by the National Organization for Victim Advocacy (NOVA) with funding from the Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) that aims to elevate the next generation of youth leaders in victim services. Developed in partnership with student survivors, researchers, and college campuses, the Victim Advocacy Corps aims to heighten diversity and foster youth engagement in victim advocacy. Student fellows from pilot campus sites throughout the U.S. will receive specialized victim advocacy training, credentialing, mentorship, and a paid field-placement in a local victim service agency.
The Victim Advocacy Corps aims to uplift and celebrate the voices of historically marginalized youth and/or college students within victim services. By working with researchers, college campuses, and youth survivor advocates, we strive to ensure the Victim Advocacy Corps represents the needs of underserved communities and offers youth the opportunity to get engaged in both victim advocacy and community service.
This service corps program seeks to recruit young college students from historically marginalized communities. These student fellows—the Victim Advocacy Corps itself—aim to serve todo víctimas del delito.
Our inaugural cohort of Student Fellows was selected and recruited in Spring 2024 and placed in community agencies throughout the country starting in Fall 2025. You can keep up with the VAC by following NOVA’s social media platforms or subscribing to our mailing list. If you’re interested in learning how you can support our VAC program, please reach out to us via email at [email protected].
Defining ‘youth’ can be complex. In the case of the Victim Advocacy Corps and its Student Fellows, we have focused on supporting college and graduate students, including non-traditional students, ranging from the age of 18 – 35+.
Puede dirigir todas las preguntas y consultas de los medios a [email protected].
While many victim advocates bring their own personal experience, or survivorship, to their work, lived experience is not a requirement for our student fellows to participate in the Victim Advocacy Corps. Likewise, interested youth do not need to have a background in victim services. We invite all interested youth and/or students to apply if they are interested in supporting survivors and their community.
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