Crime survivors travel to Springfield to lobby lawmakers for better trauma recovery support for victims
CHICAGO (CBS) -- They can tell the story of crime in Chicago better than any set of statistics. Dozens of crime survivors and families who've lost loved ones to crime are on their way to Springfield on Wednesday to demand better public safety.
The event is called Survivors Speak Illinois, put on by the group Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice.
Among the group will be Bertha Purnell, whose son, Maurice, was murdered in 2017 less than a mile from her Austin home.
Since then, she's worked to provide the support for others that she needed after her son's death; such as therapy and helping to move families to safer areas after a tragedy.
"When people are harmed, they can go to the hospital and they can treat that wound. But we need trauma recovery centers here in Illinois where we can go and we can heal out of that growth where we can get the resources and recovery we need because it's all about healing healthy, so our communities can thrive," she said.
Survivors Speak Illinois aims to call on the Illinois General Assembly to fund expanding trauma recovery centers for victims of crime and their families throughout the state before the session ends on April 8.