Critical funding for victim services (including ROAR) is in jeopardy, which could endanger millions of victims if Congress doesn’t act now. Victim safety and healing are on the line. None of the Maryland US Senators or Representatives have yet to co-sign this crucial bill. Funding for victim services (such as ROAR) from the Victims of […]

Homicide is the leading cause of death for young African-American men (ages 15-34) in the United States; they are six times more likely to die by homicide than their white counterparts. Most of these homicides are caused by firearms. 348 people died by homicide, and 771 people were non-fatally shot in Baltimore City in 2019, […]

Today, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, alongside co-counsel at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, announced the settlement of a class action lawsuit with the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) in Cottman vs. Baltimore Police Department, a case alleging that the department’s practice of searching and seizing the personal property of shooting victims violates […]

On Thursday, May 16, Lydia Watts of ROAR, along with colleagues from many of our area’s victim’s services organizations, were on hand to witness Governor Moore officially sign the Victim Compensation Reform Act of 2024 into law. Once implemented, this will remove insurmountable barriers and delays that have prevented far too many crime victims from […]

By Dylan Segelbaum, reprinted by permission from The Baltimore Banner. Photo by Kylie Cooper for The Baltimore Banner. Maryland lawmakers have passed a bill to revamp the system for victim compensation in the state; changes advocates say will not only help survivors of crime and their families, but improve public safety. The Victim Compensation Reform […]

By Dylan Segelbaum, Reprinted by permission from The Baltimore Banner. Photo by Wesley Lapointe for the Baltimore Banner. Deborah Haskins used to think that homicide happened to other families. Then, in 2013, Haskins’ son, Joseph, 20, whom family members called “JoJo,” was fatally shot during a home invasion in Baltimore. Her nephew, Reuben, 24, was […]

Gun violence is the leading cause of death for young Black men in Baltimore City—and across America. Baltimore City’s homicide rate is ten times the national average. Despite these grim statistics, governmental systems in Baltimore City and elsewhere have primarily treated gun violence and homicide among Black men as a criminal issue rather than a […]

This week, ROAR Executive Director Lydia Watts testified before both the Maryland House and Senate urging legislators to support the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board Reform Act. Read her testimony: “I am here as the executive director of The Rebuild, Overcome, and Rise (ROAR) Center at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, representing the interests of the […]