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Photo by Yvonne Pratt
What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls a Butterfly.
Richard Bach
Why is CPOMC Necessary?
One day people are leading a normal life and the next day they are thrust into a foreign world through no choice of their own, having to deal with police, lawyers, courts, media, parole, as well as their unrelenting grief of having lost a loved one to murder. In an instant, life as we once knew it disappears and the future becomes a struggle between moving on and hanging on. Few can ever appreciate the true impact of murder on a family, yet anyone of us could find ourselves in this position. Living in the aftermath of murder is a constant emotional and spiritual struggle.
Survivors of homicide victims go through the worst grief they will probably ever experience and are constantly being re-victimized by the inevitable bureaucracy that follows a murder, which compounds their trauma.
"Justice will only be achieved when those who are not injured by crime, feel as indignant
as those who are."
-King Solomon 635-577 BC
The GAP That Needs To Be Filled
Prior to the establishment of CPOMC, there was no national organization in Canada dedicated to the provision of on-going, lifelong support to parents and survivors of murder victims. Most provinces offer victim services, which are mandated to support and provide guidance to the survivors throughout the judicial process. CPOMC's mission is to fill the GAP that exists after the judicial process is finished. There are some wonderful and extremely dedicated groups in Canada that provide support to survivors within their own province, or city, but nothing existed on a national level until CPOMC was created.
CPOMC has developed a number of initiatives whereby the existing GAP can be reduced by connecting all survivors across Canada as well as those individuals and organizations working on behalf of survivors of murder victims. Current CPOMC initiatives include:
- monthly support meetings
- public awareness and education materials
We are an underserviced segment of Canadian society, challenged with reconstructing our lives, and re-engaging with a sense of hope in our community in the aftermath of murder. CPOMC invites all persons touched by murder to unite in one strong voice, ensuring that our loved ones shall never be forgotten.
