Last week there was a great disturbance in the Force as the citizens of Chester County lost one of the great advocates in the death of Brooke Hedderick. She spent thirty years at The Crime Victim’s Center of Chester County, Inc. (CVC), most recently as the Vice President of Operations, where she oversaw day to day operations.
Brooke supported CVC’s Educators, Advocates, Counselors and Support Team. These are the people who are listening to victims of crime for a living as they tell their story. It takes a lot out of you and requires special skills. You are walking in their shoes and trying to help them see the hope and the light at the end of the tunnel. Brooke was able to listen to the staff and help them help their clients. It is hard for me to understand how you help a young mom whose child was assaulted, let alone the child.
She was the “heart of the operation” according to its Executive Director Christine Zaccarelli. Chris leads CVC, and is an attorney who has served as the president of the Chester County Bar and is now also the vice chair of the Pennsylvania Association of Sexual Assault Centers.
CVC communicates to the public through hotlines. There are two, 610-692-7273 which is for Sexual Assault and 610-692-7420 for other crimes. There are more than a couple thousand calls per year, broken down about 50/50 to the two call centers.
CVC serves as Chester County’s Designated Sexual Assault center. It is a 501c3 non-profit with a staff of 37 and approximately 15 volunteers. Each county in Pennsylvania has one and they are partially supported by the state. CVC provides support for all victims of crime, not just sexual assault. It gets sizable support to its $1.9 million budget from the government but must fundraise to pay for all it does.
As part of the broad safety net, CVC helps keep Chester County safe and secure. When victims are affected by crime there is someone there for them. It is a crucial step in the overall protection of our citizens.
Chris Zaccarelli sat down with Peggy Gusz, who led the organization from 1988 until 2016, and talked about the history of CVC. Fifty years ago, sexual assault victims were pretty much overlooked by our criminal justice system. Only Pittsburgh and Philadelphia had programs before Chester County to deal with this issue.
In 1973 Linda Bocher and others began to share the need for a support system for victims of sexual assault, her husband was a supervising physician in the Emergency Room in the Chester County Hospital. This resulted in a call center and process to refer victims for help, and it became the Rape Crisis Council of Chester County.
There were so many police departments then that they had to train many different organizations. The attitude towards victims of sexual assault had to be improved and law enforcement was brought into being a partner to the process.
In 1976 a local police department reached out with a homicide case because of the center’s familiarity with victims of sexual assault. The services to this family morphed into a comprehensive victim advocacy agency. In 1986 they became The Crime Victims’ Center of Chester County, Inc.
On September 9th from 2-6 PM there will be a fund-raising BBQ at the West Chester VFW. The 50th anniversary Ball will be held at the Farmhouse at Peoples Light and Theater Company on November 9th, 2023 from 6-10pm. This is the “Night of Hope Gala”, celebrating 50 years of Hope and Healing of CVC. There are only 200 tickets available, so get yours early.
A major offering is their prevention and education programs to help create a safe and healthy community for all. They have built a capability to work with small groups and provide tools to create safer communities by encouraging allyship, presenting programs on effective conflict resolution and promoting healthy relationships. Brooke Hedderick was a big part of creating a strong organization and her work will be helping families for years to come.
Their ability to provide free, immediate, and confidential crisis response and compassionate support to children and adults impacted by sexual violence and all other crime is a real gift to our community. They C.A.R.E. about our community by providing aid through counseling, advocacy, resources, and education. The Center fosters community awareness and understanding through its comprehensive outreach and prevention programs. You can learn more from their web site www.cvcofcc.org.
“The Story of Kennett – Shaping the future one child at a time” Bob George and Joan Holliday’s book on Kennett may be purchased on Amazon and at the Mushroom Cap. You can contact Bob at georgert@gmail.com.
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