Paul Schmidt will be the first to tell you he is an emotional guy—and he’s proud of that fact.
It’s his job as director of the Jasper Victim Services Unit to support victims of crime in Jasper. And while that mandate is vast, a big part of it is simply being with victims when they’re at their most vulnerable.
“I’m very emotional—whatever, I’m a guy and I like to play with my boys and be rough with them—but I have a real sensitive side, and quite often I end up in tears when there are people in tears around me.”
Schmidt says a lot of what he does is “street-level social work.” When someone has just been assaulted, or a loved one has just been killed in a car crash, or has been victimized in any way in Jasper, he or one of his volunteer advocates is there to make sure that person has support.
That could mean setting them up with a hotel for the night, arranging for a rental car, or even bringing them a blanket and some coffee. But it also means just being with them, and helping them through the trauma.
Schmidt realizes he’s not a therapist or a counselor, “but at two in the morning you’re not calling your counselor or your therapist,” and someone needs to be there.
“You can imagine what it’s like when you are in shock, and you’ve just found out that someone you love has passed away. You can’t decide whether you need to eat something, or whether you should sleep tonight and drive tomorrow, or whether to get a rental car. All of those details I kind of look at,” he said.
JVSU was created in 2007, and Schmidt took over as director in 2008. He answers to a 10-person board made up of community members, and oversees eight volunteer advocates. He explains that while victim services isn’t really an emergency service, victims often need support at odd times, for long periods. Having volunteer advocates ensures someone is available when that happens.
Funding comes primarily from the Alberta Solicitor General, through the Victims of Crime Fund, which contributes about $87,000 each year. Aside from that grant, the Municipality of Jasper gives the JVSU about $11,000 each year. The last major source of funding is the organization’s annual charity golf tournament and silent auction.
Supporting victims involves much more than showing up at a hospital. Every second and fourth Thursday provincial court sits in Jasper, and those are some of Schmidt’s busiest days.
Last Thursday, Aug. 14, Schmidt spent most of the morning sitting in court, taking notes on the progress of some of his files. It was a particularly busy court day for Schmidt: 10 of the cases involved his clients, and he wanted to be there so he could update them on the latest proceedings.
Most of the people he works with are referred to him through the RCMP (although the healthcare centre, Community Outreach Services and other organizations in town also send people his way). They can be anyone from the family of a homicide victim to someone whose car was vandalized, and everything in between.
When he gets a referral, he can work with that person for anywhere from a few months to several years, depending on the severity of the crime.
He follows their cases through court so they don’t have to attend; he helps them arrange for restitution if they are entitled to it; he facilitates the writing of victim impact statements and a whole lot more.
As court broke for a short recess, Aug. 14, Schmidt dashed outside to take a call. He spent the entire 20-minute break on his phone, making it back just in time to catch the proceedings as they started up again.
Later, during an interview at a local coffee shop, Schmidt admitted that a lot of his day is spent on the phone—so much that it can even eat into the time he gets to spend with his family.
It was about 6:30 p.m., Schmidt had been working since early that morning, and he said when the interview was over he still had to make about 10 more phone calls.
The next day, sitting in his cramped office in the RCMP detachment, he admitted that he had worked until 2:30 a.m.—taking only a brief break to eat dinner and go for a swim with his kids.
Schmidt’s office is small and windowless. Papers are scattered across two desks, and, in order for two people to sit down, he had to pull boxes into the lobby.
The boxes contained prizes for next month’s charity golf tournament and silent auction—an event that keeps him busy all summer long. The tournament is JVSU’s major fundraiser, and Schmidt spends hundreds of hours each year canvassing for donations and organizing the event.
Aside from being a major source of revenue for victim services, Schmidt sees the tournament as a chance to connect with people and let them know what he does. People are very supportive, but even some of his biggest donators don’t understand exactly what he does.
He and his advocates hit every business in town, and he sees each meeting as an opportunity to let people know what victim services is all about.
“Even if the silent auction didn’t make any money, and we broke even on the whole tournament, it would be worth my time—that 200 hours investment— because I’m having a positive interaction with people,” he explained.
And it’s that commitment to people that has kept him at his job for six years. Schmidt said he is proud to be able to help people in the community, even if it’s just by bringing someone a sandwich when they haven’t thought to eat.
“At the end of the day I don’t feel like I’ve saved their day or did something amazing—but I’ve made some difference, and that’s why I do my job.”
Trevor Nichols
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