Victim Support helps victims of crime, suicide and traumatic events.
Almost four years ago, Billy Davis came home from work to find his wife had died suddenly. “I was devastated. I was just a total mess,” the Manukau man recalls.
Police attending the event mentioned the Manaaki Tāngata | Victim Support service, and a few days later Davis made the call. Within hours, Support Worker Deborah was on his doorstep.
“She was amazing,” says Davis. “There was obviously a lot of darkness and hurt, pain and confusion, but Deborah came in with her big smile and said, ‘I’m with you. Let’s just do this one step at a time’.
As he regained some hope about how to approach the rest of his life, Davis started thinking of becoming a volunteer himself. Less than six months later, in January 2021, he saw a social media post about Victim Support seeking volunteers. He attended an information evening and filled out an application – and has since helped 350 victims recover from their various ordeals.
Now Victim Support is looking for more people to join Davis – and his story is an ideal window on how people can quite simply help others to help themselves.
“My application was accepted in March, I started the training in April and began supporting my first victims in June,” says Davis. “Over the past three years I have been honoured to be invited into the lives of over 350 victims when they were at their most vulnerable. They’ve included people from Asia, India, South Africa and Pacific communities.”
Davis’ training began with a four-day programme all volunteers experience, teaching them to deal with victims of crime and traumatic events. That might include being involved in a burglary, car theft or intimidation. Later, more intense training covers family harm and, for more experienced volunteers, ultimately homicide.
While volunteers do a minimum of six hours per week, most commit to eight hours. Depending on other commitments like work, that could be two 4-hour evening shifts, or daytime shifts. Davis put his hand up for the one that no one else would: Sunday, 8am-4pm. “I’m usually the only one on call.”
Based in Counties-Manukau, he can also get requests from the National Contact Service to travel across greater Auckland.
Asked what’s the greatest skill for a volunteer, Davis doesn’t hesitate. “Empathy – to understand a person’s emotions, to give a listening ear. A lot of times, we don’t need to give advice to the victim. We need to let them share their emotions.
“In the initial support assignment, it’s usually 90 per cent of the client doing the talking while the volunteer listens.”
Though most people hearing “Victim Support” might think of crime, Davis points out that the service covers a far wider brief. “It could be someone seeing some tragic accident or witnessing something at work. We support people who have been affected by death in their family, from things like a car crash, a suicide or homicide.”
That was the case in Davis’ most challenging assignment, when police asked if he could go to a home to the grieving parents of an infant who had died while asleep. “It took me a while to get over the haunting cries of the infant’s mother and my feeling powerless because I couldn’t bring her baby back to life.”
But, he says, the service stepped in to support him. “Volunteers are aware that Team Leaders are always available to have a chat before finishing their roster. A self-care plan is important because we cannot fill up other people’s empty teacups if our teapot is empty.” Davis fills his teapot by going from his Sunday shift to his local church.
Mary Curnow, Head of Volunteering at Victim Support, says the service has a real need for more volunteers: “We need help in all areas and would like to hear from people who have a strong sense of community, value their culture and are motivated by a desire to help others and find personal fulfilment.”
“They often,” she says, “have an interest in the criminal justice system, or have themselves experienced crime, suicide, or a traumatic event.
“We also want to make sure our volunteers reflect the diversity of people we support, so more people from the Māori, Pacific, Chinese, Indian and other communities would be great – especially people who know a second language – as language and understanding cultural nuances can provide immense comfort. We also are seeking more men.”
For Davis, volunteering brings its own rewards. “It always lifts my mana when victims thank me for helping them transform from helpless to hopeful and from being a victim to being victorious - barely surviving to thriving.”
His whānau are proud of the mahi, and two of his friends have also become volunteers.
And there is his own journey. “Something good came out of adversity when I got home from work and found my wife dead. I was just a total mess, and it was Victim Support that picked up all those broken pieces off the ground and put it back together.”
Victim Support: what you need to know
• Manaaki Tāngata | Victim Support is available 24/7 for people affected by crime, suicide and traumatic events. It supports people to feel informed, empowered, safe and able to cope with the impact.
• It provides immediate and short-term emotional support, practical assistance, information and referrals to other agencies, and support through the criminal justice system.
• Support is free and available even if you don’t report the crime to the police.
• Victim Support assisted nearly 50,000 victims last year but are aware many more need help.
• Volunteers are not counsellors or social workers. They are everyday people who have been highly trained to meet victims’ needs with heart and professionalism.
• Volunteers provide much-needed information and support to people when they need it most, providing a listening ear, practical support and connections to relevant support services.
• They give emotional and practical support over the phone, online or face-to-face.
For more info on volunteering: victimsupport.org.nz/volunteer