April 12, 2025
Every survivor of crime has the right to heal. This not only means the victim but also the family of a victim killed by violence.
I previously posted about The Victims Compensation Fund” on October 2, 2024, and explained my confusion about filing a claim. Because of this, I contacted an attorney for assistance and began the process. Several months later, I received a portion of the reimbursement for the funeral expenses incurred due to John’s murder. However, I’m still awaiting a final decision on other items, including his grave marker. It’s been eight months since his murder. I hope I receive a decision with payment soon. My son deserves a marker on his grave.
While I’m grateful for Ohio Victims Compensation, it would have been nice to have had immediate access to the funds to help pay for John’s funeral beforehand instead of requesting reimbursement after the fact. Because he didn’t carry life insurance, I had to set up a GoFundMe campaign, which caused more stress during an already stressful time.
On April 9th, I was scrolling through my Facebook timeline. I saw a post about a webinar, ‘Right To Heal: Expanding Access to Victims Compensation, taking place on April 10th. I immediately registered to attend because I still have many questions about the victim compensation program. The Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice (CSSJ) hosted the webinar. CSSJ is a national network of crime survivors joining together to create healing communities and shape public safety policy.
April 10, 2025
The ‘Right to Heal” webinar was led by Aswad Thomas, National Director of, Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice (CSSJ).
Thomas began by stating :
“Every survivor regardless of background, where they live, or circumstances of their experience deserves the right to heal. But for too many survivors, that right is often denied due to barriers that exist in our state’s compensation programs.”
Because of this, survivors can feel retraumatized by the entire victim’s compensation process which should never happen.
To bring about change, he explained, CSSJ has created the ‘Right to Heal’ campaign, which will:
- Raise awareness of the challenges victims face with the Victims Compensation Fund.
- Advocate for more policy changes.
- Shift the way we think about healing.
- Ensure that someone sees, supports, and hears the survivors.
When Survivors Speak: Change Happens
The webinar consisted of a panel of victims who have turned their pain into purpose. and a dedicated faith leader fighting for crime victims. These panelists fueled their actions not only by the loss of their loved ones due to violence but also by the denial of access to the support and services crime victims deserve.
Hearing their stories proves that when survivors speak, change happens.
Right To Heal – Panelists
Jill Henderson – Texas
In 2007, someone killed Jill’s oldest son, Darian, in Dallas, Texas. Ten years later, a group of individuals in Greece beat her youngest son, Bakari, to death.
The murder of Bakari led Jill to create The Bakari Foundation. After struggling to get the Texas Crime Victims Compensation Program to process her claim, Jill was very instrumental in getting Senate Bill 49 to pass in Texas.
Senate Bill 49 in Texas, signed into law by Governor Abbott, expands eligibility for the Crime Victims’ Compensation (CVC) Program and increases support for survivors. Specifically, it covers relocation costs for all survivors, increases the amount of support that a survivor can receive, and extends eligibility to household members of victims. Lawmakers passed the bill with bipartisan support, and it aims to improve support for crime victims and address the cycles of trauma.
Dion Green – Ohio
Dion’s father, Derrick Fudge, died in his arms as a result of the 2019 Oregon District of Dayton, Ohio mass shooting.
As taken from the Dayton Daily News Online Article;
Many of the Oregon District survivors were denied aid by the Victims Compensation Program, including Fudge’s family. The program declined to help Fudge’s family with funeral expenses because of a 2011 felony conviction.
Instead of complaining, Dion took action and played a pivotal role in passing Ohio Senate Bill 36 by speaking to the Senate Judiciary Committee. He told them that he was denied help burying his father because Fudge had a 2011 felony drug conviction. Program rules deny aid to anyone with a felony conviction in the previous 10 years.
Another Oregon District survivor was denied help because she had drugs in her system when she was taken to the hospital to treat a gunshot wound; she says it was prescription Adderall.
Ohio Senate Bill 36 revises the criteria for crime victim reparations. Specifically, it expands eligibility for compensation to more crime victims and their families while also removing certain restrictions.
SB 36 would allow victims with years-old convictions unrelated to the incident they were a victim of to get aid; allow victims to get aid if they had controlled substances in their system; and expand eligibility for assistance to family members and caretakers of victims.
Mia Arrendondo – California
Mia Arrendondo is a Chapter Coordinator of the Crime Victim Advisory Board of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office in California.
After gang violence took the life of her older brother, she had firsthand experience with the stigmas associated with the way he lost his life. Mia soon found that Latino survivors and victims are having barriers to the Victims Compensation Fund due to stigmas. People assumed that they did not qualify because they were in gangs, on parole, or undocumented. Whether that was true or not, the crime committed against their loved one still makes the family a victim, and they deserve assistance and help. Mothers, fathers, siblings, and other family members still endure the trauma and pain from the loss of their loved ones.
As a result of this unfair treatment, Mia tirelessly advocates for victims and their families to push through significant policy changes for victim compensation. She believes The Victims Compensation Fund should help ALL victims, regardless of the circumstances.
Rafia Muhammad-McCormick – Tennessee
Muhammah-McCormick lost her son Rodney Armstrong when a friend shot him after an argument at a pool party in 2020.
On March 13, 2024, she and a group of mothers from the organization MOM, called a press conference to discuss the frustration of not only losing a child to gun violence but the limited support from the state and authorities afterward.
Because they spoke out, they were able to make it easier for victims of violent crimes and their families to get money from the state with the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act by the passage of HB1021/SB1416.
HB1021/SB1416 does a few things:
- Expands what situations families of victims are in and can qualify to get money
- Gives them 15 days to file a police report after the crime occurs compared to 48 hours
- Allows more family members to receive compensation
Muhammad-McCormick also created the Healed People Heal People Campaign, which educates victims of violence about the new law expanding eligibility to the Tennessee Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund.
Healed People Heal People listens to those most impacted by violence about what they need to heal.
https://tnhealpeoplecampaign.org
Muaath Al-Khattab – Alabama
Muaath Al-Khattab, a community organizer with the Montgomery chapter for Faith in Action Alabama, is on the front lines fighting for reforms in the Victims Compensation Program in his state.
Among the challenges victims face were:
- The application was fourteen pages long and must be mailed or dropped off at the Commission.
- Victims were being denied with no explanation.
- Applications were in the processing stage for over a year.
- Applications were approved for a zero-dollar amount.
Frustrated by the lack of cooperation from the Victims Compensation Commission, Al-Khattab decided to act. On February 24, 2023, he led a group of protestors to the Alabama Compensation Commission. The group went to Montgomery to protest delays in processing their claims and complain about the lack of communication between themselves and agency staff.
A list of demands was read to the interim Executive director which included:
- Transparency
- Accountability
- Timely responses
- Clear explanation of decisions made on claims
The commission gave various reasons for the backlog and delays, including staff shortage and lack of funding. As a result, the commission was given 2.5 million dollars to hire more employees, which reduced the backlog of claims from 2000 to under 500. The application was reduced from fourteen pages to four and is now available online, which is extremely helpful for victims of crime, especially those mourning the loss of a loved one.
Al-Khattab stated, “The powers within the survivors by collectively gathering together and putting a spotlight on their testimonies produced results”
When Survivors speak, change happens.
Inspiration
After hearing the stories of those on the panel and learning more about CSSJ’s mission, I decided to sign up and join the CSSJ movement.
Too many victims are being denied the help they need and deserve. I want to do what I can to change that in Ohio. Maybe helping others and getting involved will help me as I mourn the loss of my son.
That’s to be determined as my journey branches out into the unknown.
What I do know is that this is another step in fulfilling my promise to John.
The National Goal for the CSSJ Right To Heal campaign is to reach 200,000 survivors.
If you are a crime victim or a victim’s survivor, please click the link below and take this short survey.
Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice: Victim Compensation Survey
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