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Prisoners Give for Crime Victims
Mother of murdered daughter calls new fund a miracle
Winnipeg — A group of prisoners serving life sentences has
established a fund to help victims of crime set up healing programs.
The concept behind the newly established Candace Derksen Fund captures
all of the intricacies of the journey from violence to healing and forgiveness,
said Wilma Derksen, mother of Candace. Her daughter was 13 when she was
abducted and murdered in 1984.
"It is a miracle that it [the fund] even exists," Derksen said.
"It defies everything human in us. And it has taken all of us a long
time to get here."
The inspiration for the fund came from an unexpected source. Rene Durocher
spent 23 years in jail for bank robbery and is the national director of
Life Line — a program of the John Howard Society, which works with
lifers.
After hearing Derksen address an assembly of inmates at Stony Mountain
Institution on the needs of victims in today's society, Durocher challenged
the men to give their words meaning by acting on them. They quickly took
him up on the idea and expressed a desire to establish a fund to help
survivors of homicide and other victims of serious crime.
Durocher then approached Derksen, who heads up Victims' Voice for Mennonite
Central Committee Canada, for her approval.
"I had an unbelievable mix of emotions," said Derksen. "I respected
the source of the offer. It was something that I've been teaching all
these years — that in order to heal from an offense, the offender
has to do something more than just offer words of apology.
"I was awed and honored by their gesture. And yet I knew that as
victims we have incredible pain and fear that we associate with offenders.
It's not easy to overcome the pain and fear. I knew this fund would demand
that of us and everyone else who participates in it."
Derksen said her family discussed the plan at length with Durocher.
"My son asked all the hard questions," she said of 18-year-old
Syras. He wondered what the lifers' interests were. Would participating
in the trust fund help them get parole?
"There's not one guy who can gain something from this — except
maybe their self-respect," Durocher said. "Maybe it's selfish.
But it's the kind of selfishness that can lead a person to be a better
person."
Derksen said her daughter Odia put it all into perspective when she asked,
"Mom, isn't this what you've been preaching all of these years?"
"Even the processing of this was important and healing for our family,"
Derksen said. "It brought out all of our issues.
"The most difficult issue was using the name of our daughter. Was
it exploitation of her memory to set up this fund? We found peace when
we envisioned her memory as serving an active role in keeping this fund
focused and honest."
Derksen also consulted with other victims of crime.
"The bottom line to our discussion was that victims need money,"
she said. "The government spends billions of dollars on the rehabilitation
of offenders and comparatively nothing on the healing of crime victims.
The needs are enormous."
So far, the lifers' groups at Stony Mountain Institution and Rockwood
Institution in Manitoba have raised about $4,000 through various fund-raising
efforts.
Recently business and other individuals are catching the vision. Durocher,
who remains excited about the fund, said $7,500 is needed before the fund
is activated.
Grants from the trust will be disbursed through the Winnipeg Foundation
to fund healing programs initiated and organized by victims. These could
include an independent victims resource center, group support programs,
speakers, panels and more.
The funding proposals will be screened by a victim-appointed committee
and then submitted to the Candace Derksen Fund executive committee, which
includes members of the Derksen family.
From Mennonite Weekly Review, February
20, 2000. By MCC Canada News Service.
For more on this theme, go to www.thirdway.com/Rad/For/
and Read Wilma's story on Third Way Café.
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