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Friday, April 22, 2005
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This is the speech that Mark Lunsford wrote and presented in Washington DC on behalf of Victim Advocate funding an the President potentially cutting it.
Eight weeks ago, I had a beautiful nine-year-old daughter who was the light of my life. She was smart and funny, direct and to the point. She was more than just a daughter to me - she was my best friend. She was everything that I had planned to make positive changes in our lives. She gave me reason to be strong and to be positive, and to work hard to give her the things I wanted her to have. And BEFORE I could fully give her the things I wanted her to have, someone stole her from me.
I will never see Jessie go on her first date. I will never be a grandfather to her children. There's more than raising a child than bumps and bruises and bicycles and bandaids. I will never have those things with Jessie.
Eight weeks ago, a repeat sex offender stole this life away from me.
Eight weeks ago, I had NO idea what the Crime Victims Fund was. But I found out quickly, after the abduction and murder of my daughter, Jessie Lundsford.
There's a lot of shock and trauma when you are a victim of crime. In the middle of the chaos, two victim advocates showed up to help my family.
They answered ALL our questions about the investigation and case.
They informed my family of our rights as victims of crime.
They provided me with information about what was going on, and what would happen next.
They provided me with advice about how to deal with the news media (no offense to anyone here, but ya'll can be a little intimidating to a personwho is in shock!).
Most important, they helped my Mom and Dad, who were having a really tough time with Jessie being missing, and then found murdered. The advocates showed up to the house and did ANYTHING that was needed: answering the door and phones; answering my folks' questions; explaining the investigation process.... ANYTHING. They are family to us now.....
And their help allowed me to do what I needed to do, then and now. I never knew where my strength came from to get through this tragedy, and they helped me understand that I had it in me, to work hard in Jessie's name. I am here today because of this strength, and I will be here for years to come.THIS is what is at risk today. The President's budget would wipe out the Crime Victims' Fund. Our advocates, Melissa and Kelly, are funded in par tthrough the Citrus County Sheriffs Department from this Federal Fund - it comes NOT from taxpayers' dollars, but from fines and fees on convicted offenders. I can tell you JUST how important it is for offenders to pay for what they have done. NO amount of money can bring Jessie back, but we can hold offenders accountable through the VOCA Fund, and help innocent victims of crime.
There are THOUSANDS of Melissa's and Kelly's who help victims and their families, just like my family and me. Wiping out the Crime Victims Fund willwipe out services and support that were life-saving to my folks, and that allowed me to be able to speak out for the last two months, and to speak out today.
For years, I drove straight through Washington for my work. Today, my work is stopping here in our Nation's Capitol and urging our Congress to oppose wiping out the Crime Victims Fund. It is one of the most important stops I will ever make, and I do it in Jessie's memory.
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