Grant foul-up puts jobs of three D.C. victims' advocates at risk
By: Bill Myers
Examiner Staff Writer
September 1, 2009
Hundreds of homicide victims' families face losing their advocates in the D.C. police department because of a botched grant application, The Examiner has learned.
Laverne Harley, Jennifer Murphy and Dawn Christie were all paid by the D.C. police department to help relatives of the District's numerous homicide victims with needs ranging from paying their bills to understanding the legal system. Their work was supported by a grant from the Department of Justice.
But officials in the Fenty administration mishandled a crucial application and the feds pulled the plug on the program. Authorities are now scrambling to find new money to keep the women on their jobs after Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year, according to sources.
Tyra Fields, supervisor in the victims' services office, didn't respond to requests for comment Monday. Melissa Hooks, Fenty's victims' services grant manager, couldn't be reached for comment.
There are some 4,000 unsolved homicides on the District's books. Harley, Murphy and Christie were hired to help families awaiting news on the so-called "cold cases."
It's vital work, said Valencia Mohammed, a victims' rights advocate who buried two sons after separate homicides.
"You have to deal with the fact that you're waiting for the killer. Before that person is actually captured and brought to court, you have to go through a lot of anguish," she said.
Without victims' rights advocates, survivors "have to deal with the fact that their [loved one's] life meant nothing to the city."
"It's like, 'You're nothing. Wait over there and we'll get to it someday,' " Mohammed said.
Police union Chairman Kris Baumann said he wasn't surprised to hear about the grants chaos. He has called publicly for a separate city department to manage federal grants. While working at police headquarters, Baumann said, he saw millions of dollars flushed down the drain because of missed deadlines or botched applications.
"People would stop in and say, 'Oh, my God, we've got to spend $35,000 or we'll violate the grant. Do you need money for anything?' " he said.
The scramble over the three victims' advocates also undermines Fenty's promise of community policing, Baumann said.
"Those three people knew, worked with and cared about people in the community," he said. "And now they're going."
