Menu
Find Us
Escape
Quickly exit site Click on this button when your abuser enters the room. This page will be changed to Google.
Cancel

Vilma Torres: Helping Families of Homicide Victims

Vilma Torres, Director of Safe Horizon's staff at the Manhattan Family Justice Center, explains how her caring and compassionate approach helps families of homicide victims overcome the many facets of grief.

Vilma Torres Helping Families of Homicide Victims
Vilma Torres places a special importance on nurturing her relationships with families of homicide victims.
In the aftermath of violent crime, some victims find that navigating the legal system is both daunting and challenging. The Family Justice Center (FJC) addresses victims’ needs by bringing together social and legal service agencies, police, district attorneys, and other key personnel together under one roof.

Providing Guidance and Hope for Families of Homicide Victims

Vilma Torres is Director of Safe Horizon’s staff at the FJC in Manhattan. She first joined Safe Horizon in 1984 helping the families of homicide victims to get through the court process. She has since become recognized nationally as a resource in the victim services field because of her devotion to the well-being of each and every client she sees, who are victims of domestic violence, human trafficking and elder abuse.

Often in the criminal justice system, people are reduced to numbers – they’re nothing but a plaintiff or a defendant, ” Vilma laments. “But at the FJC, a victim of crime will be listened to in a non-judgmental, collaborative environment by a multidisciplinary team. Anyone who walks through our door will be welcomed with courtesy, respect and compassion.

Communicating with the Community

Although many victims walk through her door seeking help, Vilma places a special importance on nurturing her relationships with clients. One mother who tragically lost her daughter in a homicide reached out to us in a letter expressing her gratitude. In it she describes Vilma as a “unique individual with extraordinary qualities of compassion, care, dedication, combined with utmost sincerity for what she does to the distraught parents who lost their hopes and dreams when they happen to lose a child.

The mother continued to reflect on the 25-year friendship Vilma maintained and how it helped her cope, “Vilma helped make us realize that we are lucky to have had a wonderful daughter. To celebrate her life rather than mourn her loss. Through Vilma, we will see our daughter as long as we are in this world.