UNM students part of federal program shaping future victim advocates

Four University of New Mexico students are part of a new federal program teaching youth nationwide how to be victim advocates.

Sophie Anderson Haynie, Felicia Tuchman, Thanh Nguyen, and Sicilee Silversmith, all UNM students, were selected earlier this year for the 'Victim Advocacy Corps.' It's a partnership between the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) and the National Organization for Victim Advocacy (NOVA), a first-of-its-kind pilot program designed to teach the next generation of leaders in victim services.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, only 16 college students were selected for the program, where they will undergo victim advocacy training, mentorship, credentialing, a trip to Washington D.C., and a paid 9-month internship with a local victim service agency.

Haynie, a junior studying English Literature at UNM, says she will be working with ASUR New Mexico, a nonprofit in Albuquerque serving women experiencing homelessness and victims of trafficking and domestic violence. It's an organization she's volunteered with previously and hopes to make a career out of it.

"It's something I am very passionate about and want to continue doing for the rest of my life," Haynie said. "I really just want to grow my skills interacting with the people I work with, being personable and more confident in my abilities."

Tuchman, a Ph.D. student at UNM studying clinical psychology, said as an undergraduate at Northwestern University, she was the director of a student advocacy organization created by and for survivors of interpersonal violence on campus.

"I hadn't done much advocacy at all since graduating college, and I felt like it was missing from my life these past couple of years, so I was excited to apply and have an opportunity to engage in that kind of work again."

She said her passion started in high school, volunteering for a nonprofit serving homeless adults in New York City and as a member of a volunteer ambulance corps.

"There was this repeated sentiment that I noticed when serving people from marginalized communities on the ambulance and when speaking with adults who were dealing with homelessness that people are indifferent towards lived experiences they haven't had. That resonated with my personal experiences with victimization and made me want to be an agent of change." Tuchman said.

While she doesn't believe victim advocacy will be her day-to-day job, she hopes to use this internship for skills that can go hand-in-hand with her aspiration to be a professor and clinical supervisor.

"I see victim advocacy as less of a career path and more through the lens of 'how can I integrate this into my current career path; how can I be an advocate in my research, how can I be an advocate as a mentor, how can I be an advocate as a professor and apply these skills," Tuchman said.

Tuchman will work alongside HopeWorks, a New Mexico organization providing services to people experiencing homelessness.

Nguyen, a senior at UNM studying psychology, says she's always wanted to go into victim services. "Ever since my first psychology course in my junior year of high school, victim services has always been a constant opportunity for me to better my community," she said. "Going into victim services often comes from a place of personal understanding and for me, getting into victim services was a natural and gravitating matter."

Nguyen's placement for the internship will be at the New Mexico Asian Family Center where the organization is considered a valuable community partner aiding the gap within minority communities from individuals to civic engagement.

So far, the fellows have traveled to D.C. where they met with national leaders and attended a conference. Next, they will start their 9-month assignment.

"This whole experience thus far, and going to DC, has got me thinking this is something I would seriously consider doing for my career," Haynie said. "The fact that there are so many people out there who are being victimized, who are victims of crime every single day is unfortunate. But there is a huge need for people to be there, be a good listener, give resources, and really walk you through the legal process they might have to go through."

The students encourage others to get involved and volunteer at their local shelters/organizations.