Referrals for help from the regional victim assistance program continues to reflect an upward trend.
According to a report submitted by Anita Wilander, victim services program manager, to the Regional District of North Okanagan board, 629 new files were opened in 2017.
That was down from 719 opened the previous year, but more than the 516 for 2015 and 467 for 2014.
“Although referrals decreased in 2017 from the previous year, we have an increase in ongoing clients with an increasing complexity of needs,” stated the report. “These statistics do not include brief contact with people who call in or walk-ins requesting information or support services information.”
In the specific breakdown for quarter four of last year, of the 161 files opened Vernon represented 113 of those files while others included Enderby at 15, Armstrong five, Spallumcheen three, Okanagan Indian Band four and Lumby/Cherryville seven.
The District of Coldstream registered zero for the same time period.
The volunteer training development component of the program begins with a new volunteer orientation April 4 and weekly training program to run from April 27 to July 6.
Volunteer service hours for the fiscal 2016-17 year registered at 918 hours, with on call standby hours totalling 6,572, making the overall 10-year total for on call standby at 89,979.
Since the program opened its doors at the Vernon RCMP detachment in January 1994, Victim Services has provided support to people who have experienced tragedy or even a victim of crime, from when the incident occurred to guiding them through the criminal justice system process.