Ms. Brooke Hedderick with nominator Donna Hull

 

 Award Recipient:  Brooke Hedderick, Managing Supervisor, The Crime Victims’ Center of Chester County, Inc.

Ms. Brooke Hedderick has been with the Crime Victims’ Center of Chester County, Inc (CVC) for the last sixteen years and currently serves as Managing Supervisor.  In this role, Ms. Hedderick oversees CVC’s two main programs, the Direct Services Program and the Prevention and Education Program, as well as the many projects and task forces in which CVC is involved. 

 

Ms. Hedderick goes above and beyond in any way possible to ensure that victims’ rights and needs are met.  Whenever a challenging case comes up, she is the ‘go to’ person  for assistance and to brainstorm possibilities to help meet the client’s needs.  For example, a call came in on CVC’s sexual assault hotline from an individual whose father was a registered sex offender and who had been making comments to her of a sexual nature.  She wanted to move in with her mother who lived across the country but she did not have the resources, money or family to help her move.  After the direct service staff exhausted all their resources, they turned to Ms. Hedderick for further assistance.  Ms. Hedderick found a church in the community that donated money for a plane ticket and the client ended up safely with her mother.  As a supervisor, Ms. Hedderick sets an example for the staff to do whatever is needed, within the scope of the agency’s services, to help the victim. 

 

As a leader at CVC, Ms. Hedderick, is available twenty four hours a day to provide support to crime victims.  She is always willing to postpone whatever personal or work commitments she has in order to respond to victims’ needs.  Ms. Hedderick has put a victim’s needs ahead of her own many times.  One time, when Ms. Hedderick was leaving to respond to a double homicide, she discovered that her car, purse and phone were stolen from her home by the man who had just committed the homicide.  Despite her own crisis, Ms. Hedderick stayed with the family members of the homicide victims all night, empowering them by preparing them for what was to come.  She gave the victims the opportunity to vent, validating their feelings, while addressing safety and security concerns.  This is just one example of hundreds of cases in which she has demonstrated her ability to support and empower victims. 

 

In her attempt to raise awareness of victims’ needs and the services provided by CVC, Ms. Hedderick has served and continues to serve on multiple committees and task forces in Chester County as well as at the state level.  Included in the communities that she has worked on are:  Chester County’s Child Abuse Task Force, Child Fatality Review Team, Sexual Assault Response Team (SART), The Phoenixville Area Community Violence Network (PAVPN) and the PDAI Victim Witness Training Workgroup.  Additionally, she has worked closely with the Crime Victims’ Memorial Committee, which is comprised of a homicide victim’s family members who planned and erected a memorial for victims of crime in Chester County.  This memorial was dedicated in October 2005. 

Throughout her tenure at CVC, Ms. Brooke Hedderick has demonstrated leadership, commitment, and dedication to empowering victims of crime and the staff at CVC.