Volare

Advocacy services: volare offers advocacy services to victims of all types of crimes in the district of columbia. This includes crisis intervention, safety planning, accompaniment during reporting, assistance with compensation applications, therapeutic support, and referrals to partners. In fy24, volare's advocacy program served 596 victims of crime. Volare supports the advocacy portion of dc's sexual assault crisis response program, which includes providing free transportation to and from washington hospital center to access sexual assault medical forensic examinations, crisis advocacy, entry into therapeutic services, and referrals to legal services. In fy24, advocates responded to 267 exam requests, provided 86 safe rides, and supported 24 survivors with on-scene advocacy support when reporting sexual violence.

Systems transformation: volare leads projects that work to shift the narrative about victimization and the root causes of violence with a focus on serving some of the most vulnerable to violence that often face the greatest barriers to supportive services. These efforts include free legal representation of children in crime victims' rights matters, a project serving gun violence victims and surviving family members of homicide, and strategic partnerships to support restorative justice. Volare works to expand the community's ability to respond to victims of abuse in later life through coordination of the district's collaborative training & response for older victims (dc trov) multidisciplinary team, which includes police, prosecution, victim services, and aging partners who work to enhance outreach, education, and collaboration on elder cases. Volare's national trauma education project provides trainings to allied professionals on creating dignified and empowering experiences for crime victims in all sectors of life. Through these and many other efforts, volare advances the organization's mission, strategic vision, and the rights of clients and crime victims in the community with training, technical assistance, strategic litigation, and efforts to educate policy makers on the impacts of proposed legislation.