Jen Quam is the Police Based Victim Services Coordinator for the Robson Valley Support Society. A life-long Northerner, Jen was raised in Dome Creek before moving to McBride to attend high school. Married to Ole with two sons, Ethan and Connor, she has called McBride her home for the past fifteen years and has served as a McBride District Volunteer Fire Department firefighter for thirteen years. Through her work with the fire department, Jen obtained training as a Critical Incident Stress Debriefer. She is dedicated to provide support to victims in times of crisis, crime, or tragedy.

"Through dynamic proactive leadership, we create a greater awareness of victimization, and support the provision of service excellence," is the mission statement of the Police Based Victim Services of BC. Their purpose is "providing leadership and working collaboratively to enhance services to victims of crime and trauma" with a vision “dedicated to ensuring those impacted by crime and trauma are respected and supported."

The Robson Valley Police Based Victim Services Program serves the entire Robson Valley, an area that extends 216 kilometers from one boundary to another and serves a population of approximately 3600. The region covers an area of 14,980 square kilometers with victims services provided to the communities of McBride and Valemount as well as several, small rural communities. Through dynamic proactive leadership, Jen and her colleagues create a greater awareness of victimization and support the provision of service excellence.

Work is always on-going. As an important part of dealing with the consequences of crime, ninety-two police-based victim services programs operate across the province through RCMP and municipal police departments. Dedicated staff and highly trained, security cleared community-based volunteers work directly with police to provide emotional support, information and referral services to victims suffering from a variety of crime and trauma.

To further develop her skills in her ongoing quest to better serve victims, Jen will be participating in the Northern Responses and Approaches to Victims of Crime Conference in Yellowknife later this month. Jen stresses that her organization is always recruiting new volunteers to help with the challenges of servicing a large, rural geographic area. For more information or to become involved, Jen encourages everyone to check out the Robson Valley Support Society website at: http://www3.telus.net/robsonvalleyhomesupport/index.html

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