MADD TN Volunteers and Staff Attend 2019 Victim Assistance Training Institute

Seventeen MADD Tennessee volunteers and staff were trained at the Tennessee Victim Assistance Training Institute (VATI) held in Nashville, TN, June 12 & 13, 2019.  The training was meant to provide them with a foundation of knowledge and advocacy tools to prepare them for personal interactions with others who have experienced crime victimization by substance impaired driving or underage drinking incidents.   Besides explaining terminology and the victim services available through MADD, the training covered best practices & case management and discussed the aftermath of substance impaired driving homicide and injury cases.   Attendees also learned the importance of setting personal and professional boundaries to avoid burnout, secondary trauma, and compassion fatigue as they serve victims.

Special guests Trooper Kenneth White from the Tennessee Highway Patrol and Davidson County District Attorney, Kyle Anderson, also talked about the role of law enforcement and the prosecution in a substance impaired driving crashes.