NIOBRARA COUNTY – Becky Blackburn, the paralegal of Niobrara County Attorney Anne Wasserburger, has recently adopted the title of Victim/Witness Coordinator.

Since the closure of Helpmate last month, Wasserburger’s office was approached by the Division of Victim Services (DVS) program to see if there was a way of maintaining the continuity of its services.

According to Blackburn, Wasserburger asked her if she would want to take on this part of the program.

“Anne asked me if I wanted to do this. She wanted to make sure it was something that I wanted to do,” Blackburn told the Herald. “I said, ‘Oh yeah absolutely.””

According to Blackburn, she has always had some involvement in helping victims of crime. The DVS is separate from the victim witness.

“Everything is so new right now,” Blackburn said. “So, you’re a victim of crime, whether someone crashed into your fence or you got into a fight in a bar and you went to the ER (Emergency Room). I advocate for the victim.”

Converse Hope Center will be on hand to help Blackburn with matters as they arise. Funding has been provided for a two years. Blackburn has already started to attend 40 hours of online training to become certified in DVS.

“We had been doing a lot of that stuff in the office prior because it felt more seamless and easier. We helped victims prepare for trials and Anne talked with them [victims] all the time. Ideally, I would have some volunteer advocates to help me to be on call.”

Blackburn previously served on the Lusk Council. She has been with the County Attorney’s office for almost nine years. She is looking forward to the challenges in her new role as a Victim Advocate.

“I do really love this job,” Blackburn said of working at her current job. “I am learning a ton. I think that I am going to be better at my job with victims. I am hoping, at some point, to engage the community with education about awareness and with other agencies to be better informed.”

Blackburn is hoping that she work more closely with law enforcement.

“I’ve always been impressed with law enforcement and other agencies,” Blackburn said. “We do have a fair amount of domestic violence within our community and I just want to help educate people. I am going to learn and I am excited to help with victim witnesses. New Hope will help with cases of domestic violence and sexual assault cases. They are giving us a year. I think it will be a huge help to have this in our office now with helping victims.”

Converse Hope Center, a neighboring domestic violence and sexual assault shelter program in Converse County, will assist with services for victims in Niobrara County. They specialize in domestic violence and sexual assault.

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126 N. 5th St.

Douglas, WY  82633

Phone: 307-358-6148

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506 W. Birch Ste. 10 Glenrock, WY  82637

Phone: 307-436-5410