1.2 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) will be offered for this training.

Losing a close friend or family member through an act of violence is a traumatic, incomprehensible experience from which many people never recover. Those who survive are victims, too, because their world has changed forever. For the advocate, working with survivors of homicide victims means supporting them through the most shattering experience of their lives and assisting them during the painful but necessary reentry into meaningful life.

This training begins with interviews of several survivors of homicide victims. They tell their stories of grief, trauma, and ultimately – resilience.

Active participation in each of the following training modules will help you accomplish these specific learning objectives:

• Homicide Defined
  • Explain the terms "homicide" and "survivors of homicide victims."
  • Distinguish between homicide and other types of death.
  • Describe the roles of professionals who become involved in cases of homicide
• Emotional and Psychological Responses to Homicide
  • Define grief, mourning, and bereavement.
  • Describe the disorders that may result from a traumatic experience.
• Stress and Resilience
  • Identify ways stress can occur.
  • Identify ways victim service providers can cope with stress.
  • Define resilience.
  • Identify the characteristics of resilient people.
  • Describe ways to build resilience.
• Notification
  • Identify possible survivor reactions to notification of a homicide.
  • Describe how to make a compassionate death notification.
• Intervention After Notification
  • Identify possible survivor reactions immediately following notification of a homicide.
  • Identify stressors survivors may confront immediately following notification of a homicide.
  • Describe how to assist survivors immediately following notification of a homicide.
• Intervention Over the Short Term
  • Describe the risk factors that may affect survivor resilience.
  • Identify common triggers.
  • Describe how to assist survivors over the short term following notification of a homicide.
• Intervention Over the Long Term
  • Describe the risk factors that may lead to trauma-related disorders.
  • Describe how to assist survivors over the long term following notification of a homicide.
• Surviving the Legal System
  • Explain how to prepare a survivor for a homicide trial.
  • Explain how to assist a survivor during a homicide trial.
  • Describe the purpose of a victim impact statement.
  • Explain how to assist a survivor after the trial is over.
  • Describe how to assist with survivors during investigation of a cold case.