National Crime Victims’ Rights Week: Victim Services Division’s Annual Commemorative Ceremony

The Victim Services Division hosted its annual National Crime Victims’ Rights Week (NCVRW) commemorative ceremony on Thursday, April 10, 2025, at the Texas Prison Museum in Huntsville.

Special guests included keynote speaker, Alyssa Heatherly. A victim of family violence, Heatherly personified this year’s theme: Connecting < KINSHIP > Healing, by giving back to her community and serving as an advocate and a voice for victims of childhood trauma.

Beginning when she was around three years old, Heatherly experienced physical abuse, drug use and childhood sexual trauma in her home. When she became a teenager, Heatherly found the courage and spoke out; her abuser was arrested and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Lacking a stable household with parents who made a series of poor decisions for her, she committed and dedicated herself to becoming a positive influence on the children in her community.

“I am here to represent and be a voice for victims of childhood trauma,” Heatherly began. “When I was old enough to understand what I went through, it was heart-breaking to feel the heavy hand of distrust.”

“The biggest thing I want to do is to make sure that I can help protect as many children as possible from living a life like I did. Now, I want to be a safe space,” Heatherly said, “and if one child felt like they could come talk to me and have me help them, I’ve done my job.”

To promote awareness, every April, local, state and national agencies and organizations, including the TDCJ Victim Services Division, participate in the national theme set by the Office for Victims of Crime, one of six program offices within the Office of Justice Programs at the U.S. Department of Justice.

Speaking on the significance of the annual NCVRW ceremony, Victim Services Division Deputy Director, Amanda Gage said, “It is important to honor victims of crime and to recognize the extraordinary courage and resilience they possess.”

At the first NCVRW ceremony held by TDCJ in 2022, the Victim Services Division planted a memorial tree at the Texas Prison Museum in memory of and to support victims of crime. “By looking at the size, representation and diversity of the TDCJ staff attending the ceremony today,” Gage said, “It shows how dedicated we all are to fulfilling the TDCJ mission and assisting victims of crime.”

Sydney Zuiker, a member of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice (TBCJ) who chairs the Victim Services Committee, offered these words about NCVRW. “In Texas, National Crime Victims’ Rights Week is more than a moment – it’s a movement!”

“Everything is bigger in Texas,” Zuiker said, “including our commitment to supporting victims and their families. Through my work with surviving family members of homicide and victims of violent crime, I’ve seen the depths of loss, but I’ve also seen the strength of Texas communities who show up, stand together and turn pain into purpose. This year’s theme, Connecting < KINSHIP > Healing, is a reflection of who we are – Texans take care of our own. We believe that no one should walk the road to healing alone, and in true Texas fashion, we make sure they never have to.”

Along with TDCJ staff, other criminal justice professionals and victim advocates, crime victims from around Texas made the annual trip to Huntsville. The importance of being at the event helps fulfill their need to be seen, to be heard and to participate in the criminal justice process. This year, Scot Harris made his second trip to the ceremony. Harris’s mom, 76-year-old, Nancy Harris, was robbed on May 20, 2012, at her job at a convenience store near her home in Garland. During the robbery, the offender doused her with lighter fluid and set her on fire. She died from her injuries a few days later, on May 25, surrounded by her four sons and their families.

For Harris, coming to the NCVRW ceremony offers him a healing connection from a community he never expected to be a part of. He acknowledged the importance of those who preceded him, who fought for and pioneered the rights he and his family have today.

“Throughout the difficult and long journey we’ve been through,” Harris said, “we’ve always known from the beginning that there were people at our side and on our side, people who included us in this complex process and people who showed they cared about us.”

Harris added, “Attending this ceremony puts faces on the criminal justice community. Even though most of the people here don’t know who I am or what my family and I have been through, I can see they are people who care about crime victims.”

To close the ceremony, Sydney Zuiker offered these last thoughts for the day. Zuiker said, “I love that the theme of this year’s NCVRW is kinship, because kinship means humanity to me. Humanity is the most important aspect of victim services and community work. What we are doing and what is happening across the nation today is that we are pausing, to not look away from situations that are hard or scary or uncomfortable.”

“For victims of crime,” Zuiker added, “Kinship is more than comfort. It’s a word that means strength and solidarity and hope. Today, we are standing together to show that victims are heard, supported and certainly never forgotten.”