Group Offers Aid for Hate Crime Victims

The organizers of Advocates for Equal Justice, a fledgling group that wants to create a civil rights center in the county, is looking for professional and community support.

The group has been operating on a piecemeal basis since 1995, said founder Shoshona Abrams. Herself the victim of a hate crime in 1990, Abrams said she saw the need for a centralized clearinghouse where victims of hate crimes or civil rights abuses can talk with experienced lawyers, counselors, lawmakers and investigators.

“I had a tremendous amount of trouble finding someone to help me deal with the effects of the hate crime,” Abrams said. “Everyone who helped me was from Los Angeles, and it made me realize that we need a similar service here.”

The group, which is made up of about 20 volunteers, officially opened its telephone lines in January.

They operate with a telephone and a mailing address. Victims of hate crimes can call the group’s hotline to get advice on how to report the crime, and how to find legal and emotional help, Abrams said.

She has funded most of the organization’s work herself, spending an estimated $1,000 in the past year.

In the future, the group hopes to establish a civil rights commission and a hate crimes task force in the county, to publish a quarterly newsletter and to create and maintain a database.

“If people who have been the victims of a hate crime have someone to talk to who has been through a similar experience, it makes a big difference,” Abrams said.

For more information about Advocates for Equal Justice, or to volunteer, call 659-6247.