Nine agencies come together to continue healing the community in the wake of Mother Emanuel tragedy

Office of Victims of Crime grants funds for past, current and future services for the congregation of Mother Emanuel AME Church, survivors and family members of the victims

CHARLESTON, SC – The National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center (NCVC) in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), Berkeley County Mental Health Center, Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, the City of Charleston Police Department, the Charleston Dorchester County Mental Health Center, the Charleston Coroner’s Office,  the Charleston County Clerk of Courts, and the Ninth Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office have been granted approximately $3.6 million from the National Office of Victims of Crime (OVC) for past, current and future efforts to assist and partner with the Mother Emanuel AME Church.

“We commend the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center at MUSC and our federal, state, and local partners for their extraordinary efforts to identify a long term solution for the victims’ families, survivors, and Mother Emanuel AME Church family impacted by the Emanuel 9 shooting,” said Reverend Betty Deas Clark. “Additionally, we thank the Department of Justice for making these funds available for this critical work.”

Mother Emanuel AME Church and the entire congregation are considered a named victim for purposes of this funding, a somewhat novel set of circumstances. “The crime occurred in the context of a long history of racially motivated attacks directed at African-American churches, thereby magnifying its impact on the congregation,” said Dean G. Kilpatrick, Ph.D., co-director of the OVC service grant, NCVC director and distinguished university professor of Clinical Psychology. “These remarkable families, surviving witnesses, and church members, as well as first responders and Charleston itself, have received widespread recognition for their grace and resilience. Although admirable, it does not negate the fact that many individuals will need help, information, and assistance for an extended period of time. All of these people need to receive assistance, and we are overjoyed at the immense level of teamwork across all of the partner agencies taking place to secure this assistance.”

NCVC at MUSC was approached by several agencies, including the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the South Carolina District, to serve as the lead agency for the OVC service grant application. NCVC will be accountable for the distribution of funds to partner organizations for needed services, coordination of services, and reimbursement to agencies for services already rendered in the aftermath of the tragedy. NCVC has conducted extensive discussions with Rev. Clark and additional church leadership to assess their needs and the types of services that would be most relevant and useful. An overview of the services that will be funded in whole or part by OVC service grant are:

• Limited victim-related law enforcement services (e.g. death notifications, security and victim escort at memorial services and funerals, crime scene cleanup, victim protection during court proceedings)
• Victim-witness notification and support services (e.g. notification of hearings and proceedings; accompaniment of victims at these hearings and proceedings; assistance with travel arrangements to attend hearings and proceedings; facilitating consultation with prosecutors)
• Services addressing crime-related mental health needs of direct and indirect victims (e.g. evidence-based individual mental health counseling;  support group counseling; intensive case management and victim navigation; resiliency building community memorials and events, and self-help psychoeducational materials that are designed to provide brief information about common crime-related mental health problems, self-screening for those problems, and evidence-based self-help suggestions about how to address problems constructively; the self-help psychoeducational materials will be developed in a paper and pencil as well as an online web application version);
• Resiliency center services designed to meet the crime-related needs of the congregation;
• Direct victim assistance services provided by the Charleston County Coroner’s Office;
• Services designed to assist victims in preparing for and attending trial proceedings