Florida lawmakers can help victims recover from the trauma of crime | Opinion

In 2012, I was a 16-year-old honor-roll student at American Senior High School in Miami, with my heart set on going to college and becoming a pediatric oncologist. One night, on the way home from a dinner party celebrating a birthday, my sister’s car was caught in the cross‑fire of a drive‑by shooting while dropping off a friend.

My sister’s 2‑year old godson was in the car next to me, so I pushed him onto the floor and laid across the backseat of the car. More than a dozen bullet holes lined my sister’s car. My godson was not hurt. The bullet that critically injured me entered through the bumper, the trunk and the backseat of the car before entering my hip.

After the shooting I was in the hospital for weeks. Even after I was a discharged, simple things like walking, going to school, working — even sleeping through the night — became really difficult.

When violence hits, you’re caught so off‑guard. My family and I were not in the state of mind to navigate the bureaucracy of the victim’s compensation system. As I tried to catch up on schoolwork and physically heal, I didn’t have the time, emotional resources or physical stamina to complete the process.

Because of bureaucratic hurdles, it took me a tremendous time to complete and submit my application for victim’s compensation. In Florida, crime victims have only one year from the date of the crime to apply. At that point, I was 17, and before I turned 18 my advocate had left the department, which delayed any progress. I needed more time, but because I didn’t have it, I ended up not having the support I needed to recover.

I am not alone. A 2018 survey of Florida crime victims found that three out of four of them received no information about the availability of victim’s services following the incident.

In my sophomore year of college, I started experiencing severe memory problems. The doctors said it was a result of lack of oxygen to the brain after the shooting. I realized I may never become a doctor and I had to reconsider my plans for the future.

When I joined Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice, a network of thousands of other crime survivors, I realized how many other people have struggled to recover from the trauma that is the result of crime. Since then, I’ve dedicated my life to advocating for victims’ rights and new public-safety priorities. Like other survivors, I know that Florida needs to make it easier for victims like myself to recover and get the resources they need. Without help, trauma can lead to overwhelming depression and anxiety, which I have also experienced.

Sadly, the tragic results of unaddressed trauma have been all over the news recently. In Parkland and other cities in South Florida, victims and their families have been suffering. Across Florida thousands of crime victims face a similar problem — overwhelming trauma and a lack of resources to help them heal. Eight in 10 crime victims report experiencing at least one trauma symptom after an incident. A survey of Florida crime victims found that a majority of crime survivors don’t receive any victim’s services. We need to change that. The lack of services can be lethal.

One critical step that legislators can take this session is to extend time limits for victims to apply for compensation. Currently, there is a 72-hour time limit to report a crime that should be expanded to at least five days. Additionally, there is a time limit to apply for victim compensation funds — it should be expanded from one to five years. The first year, when most people are severely traumatized, learning how and when to apply for even the smallest amount of help can be a huge challenge. Lack of information, or the time it takes to process grief and trauma, shouldn’t disqualify a person from being able to report a crime or successfully apply for victim compensation. No victim should ever have to face a complete lack of access to help and resources like I did.

Crime victims from across Florida are sharing their stories and advocating for policies that help survivors heal and stop cycles of crime. Crime victims need to be at the center of criminal justice policy making because crime survivors know best what is needed to help us heal.

Megan Hobson, based in Miami, is an advocate for victims and a member of Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice.

This story was originally published April 5, 2019 at 8:12 PM.