Victims Find Peace, Healing Through Meeting Criminals Who Hurt Them

Victims Find Peace, Healing Through Meeting Criminals Who Hurt Them

There’s new approach that has crime victims meeting with their offenders as a way to move forward. The Tennessee Department of Correction created a Victim/Offender Dialogue Program, similar to other states. It’s centered on victims overcoming by going into where their offender is incarcerated and talking about the past.

Dillon Hammer visits Riverbluff Park often.

“A place where I can get out of my own head, ” he says.

Hammer couldn’t get out of his head though, the murder of his father when the 20-year-old barely turned a year old.

Dillon Hammer says, “I never really had that father figure to look up to until my mom found my step-dad. Just somebody robbing me of the chance to know my dad, it was rough. It was rough.”

At 18, he decided to meet the man responsible…through TDOC’s program .

The process begins with victims initiating it.. Then TDOC determines if the inmate meets the criteria.

Finally, two trained facilitators are assigned to the case, like Verna Wyatt , Co-founder of TN Voices for Victims, and Viki Matson, Director of Field Education at Vandebilt’s Divinity School.

Verna Wyatt says, “Not every victim of crime wants to spend their time doing it. But there is a group of victims of want answers that only the offender can give them. This process can be an amazing benefit for the victims..”

Dillon Hammer says, “My father couldn’t give me answers so he was the only one I had that could tell me (continue reading)

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