In the last fiscal year, 610 local sexual assault victims and their partners turned to a small program here on Eastern’s campus for assistance.

This program, the Sexual Assault Counseling and Information Service, counsels victims from both Eastern and the Charleston community. In addition to counseling, SACIS helps victims during any emergency crisis, accompanies them to hospitals, advocates for them in the criminal justice system and hosts educational programs on campus and around the community, said Diana Slaviero, coordinator of women’s studies and director of the women’s resource center.

Men and women who have suffered through a sexual assault or are dealing with the repercussions of one turn to SACIS for the professional assistance they may need to get through it.

SACIS is a great program, but it is not unique to our state or even our country.

This is just one small example of programs assisted by federal funding through the Victims of Crimes Act. VOCA, which went into effect in 1984, supports almost 4 million crime victims and more than 4,400 programs dedicated to crime victims across the United States.

“The VOCA Crime Victims Fund provides grants to state victim compensation programs, allowing victims of violent crimes throughout the country to get help for medical care, mental health counseling, funeral and burial expenses and other vital services,” according to a press release issued by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.

“The fund is financed entirely by fines, forfeitures and special assessments paid by convicted federal offenders – not by taxpayers.”

For the fiscal year 2004, Illinois received $10.4 million in victim compensation and $16.2 million for victim services. And now, congress is planning to drastically cut these funds throughout and following fiscal year 2006.

This plan involves more than $1.2 billion in proposed cuts which would be distributed to the general treasury and dedicated toward homeland security. The proposed budget cut would, as said in the press release, include fiscal year 2006’s $650 million in funding. But any remaining money from that fund, and any newly collected money during 2006, would be eliminated, leaving no funding for future victims and services, the press release said.

I’ll skip right over my feelings about homeland security right now to express my concerns for this particular situation.

First of all, the victims deserve this money. It isn’t taxpayers’ money; it is money that comes from criminals, which are the reason there are victims in the first place.

Four million people who have suffered terrible, violent crimes, and countless others who may become victims in the future, could lose the support they deserve.

The press release said a letter signed by all 50 states’ attorneys general as well as the Attorney General of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands was issued to congress.

But it couldn’t hurt, fellow citizens of this dear democracy, to send personal concerns along as well. Take a few minutes and try helping some of our own nation’s people who deserve, need and welcome this sort of assistance.