ROAR Center Helps Victims Become Survivors
A single mother living in West Baltimore loses her oldest son to gun violence. She heard the gunfire that killed him, because it happened less than a block from her home.
Lydia Watts, JD, is the ROAR Center's executive director.
It has been hard getting out of bed, and her job is on the line. Her landlord is threatening eviction because she鈥檚 late paying rent. Plus, her younger children are acting out because their brother was killed.
This is a picture that attorney Lydia Watts, JD, executive director of the Rebuild, Overcome, and Rise (ROAR) Center, paints of a client who could make use of the center鈥檚 wraparound services for crime survivors.
There鈥檚 the actual crime, and there鈥檚 the aftermath, which Watts describes as a 鈥渢sunami鈥� of legal, social, medical, and mental health issues that can overwhelm a victim who has nowhere to turn.
The ROAR Center at the 91大神, Baltimore (UMB) is meant to be a haven for people experiencing that tsunami 鈥� a 鈥渙ne-stop shop鈥� where victims of crime can access a full range of services.
Funded by a grant from the Governor鈥檚 Office of Crime Control and Prevention, the ROAR Center opened in January 2019 with a mission to 鈥渆ngage with individuals and communities in Baltimore City affected by crime by providing holistic, client-driven services to survivors of crime and supporting efforts to reform systemic responses to crime.鈥�
Administered by the , the ROAR Center is a collaborative project established to build on the vast expertise and community connections of UMB鈥檚 six professional schools 鈥� law, nursing, social work, dentistry, pharmacy, and medicine 鈥� to provide services to the broader UMB community and surrounding neighborhoods.
Maryland Carey Law Dean Donald B. Tobin, JD, says the idea behind the ROAR Center is to provide holistic services to survivors traumatized by crime. 鈥淲e have a long history of working with the community, but after Baltimore鈥檚 unrest [in 2015], we redoubled our efforts to explore ways we can make a difference to people in the community,鈥� Tobin says.
The staff, which includes attorneys, a paralegal, social workers, and a nurse, represents UMB鈥檚 commitment to interprofessional services and community outreach.
鈥淭here are lots of ways in which victims of crime are not served by the existing systems,鈥� Tobin notes. 鈥淵ou might need help with your housing. You might need help finding medical benefits because you鈥檙e injured and you don鈥檛 know where to turn. You might need counseling and support.鈥�
According to Watts, research shows that vulnerable populations are at the highest risk for victimization. This includes immigrants, people of color, members of the LGBTQ community, people living in poverty, sex workers, and other marginalized communities. 鈥淎ll of those populations are at greater risk of being victimized and are also less likely to call police,鈥� Watts says.
ROAR clients do not need to have reported the crime to the police to receive help. The center鈥檚 services are free and have no income restrictions. The only criteria, Watts says, is that there is a history of being a victim of crime. 鈥淓ven if the crime happened some time ago, we can still help you,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he impact of the crime can last for years.鈥�
Located on the third floor at 520 W. Fayette St., the ROAR Center offers a welcome respite from the busy street below. For adults, there鈥檚 a comfortable sofa, a bookshelf stacked with reading material, and a coffee station. For kids, there鈥檚 a toy box filled with stuffed animals, games, and markers.
The small comforts of home create a space where clients, whom the ROAR Center team refers to as 鈥渟urvivors,鈥� can feel safe to discuss their cases and make use of the diverse array of services designed to help them regain their footing after a traumatic event.
Justina Prince appreciates these small comforts. Two years ago in Baltimore, she was raped by an acquaintance and left with deep emotional scars. 鈥淎fter being assaulted, I closed myself off,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 lived in my bathroom for months, barely leaving, having to call people to bring me food and water.鈥�
Prince was ROAR鈥檚 first client when the center opened in January 2019. 鈥淲hen I reported before ROAR existed, I felt like a victim. Now that I have ROAR, I feel like a survivor. I know that somebody鈥檚 advocating for me,鈥� she says, her voice filled with emotion.
The ROAR Center is there to 鈥渇ill the gap鈥� of needs not addressed by the justice system, Watts says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really the best approach in terms of being able to help a survivor rebuild, overcome, and rise 鈥� to go from a place where life is in chaos to functioning again.鈥�
The three staff attorneys help deal with the legal needs of clients impacted by crime, including victims鈥� rights during investigation and prosecution, housing, employment and education accommodations, public benefits, protection and peace orders, and applying for and appealing denials of criminal injury compensation.
However, the need for survivor assistance doesn鈥檛 end with legal issues. The ripple effects of crime often have a negative impact on survivors鈥� mental and emotional health. Social worker Monifa Jeffrey-Riggins, MSW, provides one-on-one talk therapy to ROAR clients seeking to move beyond their trauma.
鈥淲e create a space for people to have an opportunity to process their thoughts and their feelings around the traumatic experience they survived,鈥� she says.
Social worker Laurel Smith-Raut, MSW, serves as client case manager. The 2007 graduate of the says she loves helping survivors wade through the complex benefits system to help them work toward a positive vision for the future.
Prince is grateful for the assistance. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge, scary thing for somebody who鈥檚 in the middle of dealing with trauma to navigate a bureaucratic system,鈥� she says. 鈥淔or somebody to say, 鈥榊ou don鈥檛 have insurance? Let me deal with that,鈥� is a huge weight lifted.鈥�
鈥淩OAR is something unique that the community needed,鈥� adds Dana Blech, JD, a 2018 graduate of Maryland Carey Law who is a legal fellow at the center. She says she enjoys stepping outside of the law school and connecting with clients 鈥渨ho right now, in this moment, need my help.鈥�
She鈥檚 invigorated by her co-workers, whom she says are an 鈥渁mazing team of can-do problem-solvers.鈥� Adds Blech, 鈥淢ost places will say, 鈥榃e don鈥檛 do that, we do this.鈥� I feel like we鈥檙e one of the few places that says, 鈥楴o, we do everything. We鈥檒l figure it out.鈥欌��
Prince is thankful for the help provided by ROAR: the counseling, the legal support, the case management, and the shoulder to cry on. 鈥淲e鈥檙e all in it together,鈥� she says. 鈥淩OAR isn鈥檛 about getting convictions 鈥� yes, there are lawyers who are fighting for that 鈥� but ROAR is about the support system around the victim so [they] can become a survivor no matter what they decide in court.鈥�
