Victim/Witness Services of South Philadelphia Annual Spring Fundraiser

The Victim/Witness Services of South Philadelphia, Inc. (V/WSSP) will honor the Network of Neighbors Responding to Violence at their Annual Spring Fundraiser & Award Ceremony. The event will take place at 6 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. tonight at the Fleisher Art Memorial, 719 Catharine Street.

V/WSSP offers direct assistance and support to crime victims, witnesses and their families in the three Police Districts of South Philadelphia (1st, 3rd, and 17th Districts). V/WSSP has provided outreach and services to over 65,000 community members since they were founded in 1989.

Alison Sprague, V/WSSP Executive Director, said “Violence has a long lasting impact not only on the person directly harmed, but also on their family members and communities. V/WSSP works to provide a safe and responsive place to meet victims’ needs.” V/WSSP also has an Immigrant Victim Access Collaborative with staff that speak Spanish, Vietnamese, Thai, Cantonese and French.

Network of Neighbors Responding to Violence is a neighbor-driven network of Philadelphians who are called on to support communities after violent, often traumatic incidents. By supporting individuals in the immediate aftermath of a violent incident, the Network aims to mitigate many of the harmful symptoms and behaviors that result from trauma and violence. The Network is a program of the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services (DBHIDS).

Sprague said “We are so pleased to be honoring the Network of Neighbors. The work they do to provide trauma informed, evidence-based responses to communities and schools after shootings, homicides and other violent crimes, particularly those involving young people, is critically important. V/WSSP has been advocating for this type of coordinated response for many years and we’re thrilled to see it in action.”

The honorees will receive the Edward J. McLaughlin Award for Distinguished Service to Crime Victims. The award is named after former Licenses and Inspections Commissioner and Police Department Chief Inspector Ed McLaughlin who founded V/WSSP in 1989. Purchase tickets here.