Do you want to assist a charity that supports victims of crime?

The board of directors at Victim Support at Court(V-SAC) are looking for expressions of interest from individuals with relevant experience who are looking to become directors of a vibrant and growing charity.

Victim Support at Court(V-SAC) is the only recognised specialist voluntary service in Ireland dedicated solely to court accompaniment for victims of crime, their families and other witnesses. We are at the forefront of delivering a high-quality court accompaniment service within the Irish Judicial System and are currently piloting our second expansion project which will help V-SAC towards becoming a national service.

In line with current legislation, V-SAC directors are unpaid but vouched out-of- pocket expenses will be re-imbursed. V-SAC board meetings are held remotely and in person in Dublin.

DUTIES OF DIRECTORS:

The duties of Directors include:

• Continuing the commitment by V-SAC to good governance, inclusion and to maintaining the highest of ethical standards
• Attendance at monthly board meetings and other organisational events
• Monitoring the performance of V-SAC especially against its strategic priorities and the annual work plan agreed by the Board
• Leading on specific tasks or strategic objectives as delegated by the Board
• Development of policy in relation to the above areas or others, as required
• Willingness to serve on ad hoc subcommittees as required

Time commitment: 4-6 hours per month, approx.

Board meetings are a mixture of virtual and in person in Dublin.

V-SAC welcome expressions of interest from potential directors with expertise or high

level experience of the following skills:

• Communications (Media and Public Relations training).
• Human Resource Management.
• Relevant financial skills-ideally a qualified accountant.
• Strategic planning, risk management, policy preparation and fundraising skills will also be looked at favourably.

V-SAC is committed to the principles of diversity, inclusion and equality of opportunity. We welcome submissions from appropriately qualified candidates from all backgrounds.

Expressions of interest may be made in confidence to the Chairperson at chair@vsac.ie. Please submit a curriculum vitae and a brief statement outlining your interest and relevant experience before 1pm on Monday 30^th January 2023.

It is anticipated that in-person or virtual interviews will be held in February 2023.

Congratulations to Evelyn Bracken, V-SAC Volunteer, who was shortlisted for a Volunteer Ireland Award in the Social Inclusion and Community Support category.

Evelyn volunteers in the Criminal Courts of Justice, Parkgate St, Dublin and provides practical and emotional support to victims of all types of crime, their family/friends and prosecution witnesses when they come to court. No matter what the crime, Evelyn treats all victims with respect and is there for them if they have any questions. She deals compassionately with anyone she supports. She continued to volunteer during the COVID-19 restrictions, even when the courts were operating at a reduced capacity. She gets on well with her fellow volunteers and V-SAC staff. She is always willing to help out in anything to do with V-SAC. She is such an asset to V-SAC and has given almost 300 days to volunteering since she joined V-SAC in 2017. The victims really appreciate having Evelyn with them every step during their time at court. Evelyn deserves the recognition for the fantastic work she has given victims and giving so much of her own time to help others.

Well done to all the awardees of Volunteer Ireland Awards. While Evelyn was not an awardee, her contribution to V-SAC in supporting victims of crime was recognised at the Volunteer Ireland Awards ceremony on Friday 2nd December 2022. Well done, Evelyn!

 

V-SAC provided support 3,720 times to 1,271 people across the different criminal courts in Ireland. Our free and confidential court accompaniment service is provided by our fully trained volunteers who gave up a total of 641 days of their time in 2021 to help victims of all types of crime when they attended court.

	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	Total
People supported	1,271	1,096	1,482	1,365	1,257	6,471
Individual contact meetings	3,720	3,248	5,435	5,427	5,352	23,182
No of active volunteers	36	46	69	46	34	60-80
No of days given by volunteers	641	662	1,417	1,202	946	4,868

Our service is available to anyone who has been a victim and/or witness of crime and is due to attend court for criminal proceedings. V-SAC does not discriminate on gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, race, membership of the Traveller community and people in receipt of housing assistance. We also support children and vulnerable adults who are victims of, or witnesses, to crime.

To book in with with V-SAC for support contact 01-872-6785 or email info@vsac.ie.

Are you interested in volunteering with Victim Support at Court (V-SAC)? We are expanding our services into Galway and Mayo courts. Volunteers are extremely important to the support that we give to victims and witnesses and we welcome volunteers from every walk of life.

For information about the role of court accompaniment volunteer, please click here.

Please apply online by clicking here.

The Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, launched V-SAC’s 3-year strategic plan at a virtual event on 7^th April 2021 at 11.30am which was attended by Judges, Gardaí, other support agencies and Courts Services personnel. V-SAC’s plan includes the continued expansion of its court accompaniment service into areas where little or no court accompaniment service is currently available.

For full details of the Stategic Plan, click the link below:

V SAC Stategy 2021-2023 – Final

Noelle Fitzsimons, V-SAC’s longest serving volunteer, was awarded the 2020 Community Hero Award as part of The Wheel’s 2020 Charity Impact Awards. Congratulations from everyone in V-SAC! Noelle has given up so much of her time over the past 3 decades to providing much needed support to victims of all types of crime when they came to court. To read the story about Noelle’s time volunteering, click the link below.

https://www.wheel.ie/sites/default/files/media/file-uploads/2020-12/Charity%20Impact%20Awards%20Programme%202020%20Online.pdf