WHEELING, W.Va. (WTRF) — Vance Memorial Church hosted a walk-through simulation where everyday people experience the life of someone who is a part of the system.

Rethink Crimes Victims is an immersive learning activity put on by the Young Women’s Christian Association for National Crime Victims’ Rights Week.

Challenges and barriers that reflected real-life struggles were used to educate participants on the different aspects of poverty, domestic violence, crime, and recovery.

“This is your story; do you choose option A or option B? Then you are redirected to another location, another station. So, everything here is representative of all community relevant programs that individuals who have experienced hate crimes would have to encounter in order to be considered successful when they come back into their community.”LAURA ALBERTINI-WEIGEL, DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS AT THE YWCA

Laura Albertini-Weigel says that everybody has their challenges, but by building awareness, we can learn more and help lower the barriers people in the system face when re-entering society.

https://www.wtrf.com/news/rethink-crimes-victims-experience-a-day-in-the-life-of-a-crime-survivor