HEALTHY MIND

Three victim advocates for the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office assist crime victims by providing them with empathy and respect, current and timely information, and ongoing support and assistance.

STORY: JAMES COMBS ≈ PHOTOS: NICOLE HAMEL

loody noses. Hurtful words. Controlling behavior. For Jessi Laytart, those are painful reminders of spending four years with an abusive boyfriend. Her rocky relationship came to a head one night in 2016. After a heated argument, Jessi’s boyfriend ran her over with his car, leaving her hospitalized for several weeks.

Fortunately for Jessi, someone whom she refers to as an “angel” came to her rescue. That angel was Sharon Howard, who at the time was a victim advocate with the Citrus County Sheri ’s O ce.

Sharon helped Jessi get admitted into a shelter for abused women. She stood by Jessi’s side during court proceedings. She helped her cope with the emotional devastation resulting from years of abuse.

“She really saved my life,” Jessi says.

Once she got her life back in order, Jessi paid those good deeds forward. She spent two years as a house manager for a homeless women’s shelter.

“Doing that was very rewarding,” Jessi says. “I taught women how to thrive rather than just survive.”

In the aftermath of a violent or criminal o ense, victims are forced to cope with physical pain, psychological trauma, nancial loss, and a criminal justice system that is confusing and overwhelming.

Victim advocates like Sharon help alleviate those burdens.

Today, Sharon is victim services manager for the Sumter County Sheri ’s O ce’s victim advocate program. Sharon, along with Ashley Martinez and Susan Cook, who are also victim advocates for the program, provide crisis intervention, emotional support, and information about available resources while also helping crime victims navigate the legal system.

Each is passionate about supporting society’s most vulnerable people. And they enjoy providing crime victims with the necessary tools to help them recover.

—SHARON HOWARD

—SUSAN COOK

“We see people on the worst day of their lives,” Sharon says. “We talk to them for months or years and follow them through the criminal justice system. Watching them as they build resilience and strength makes this job so rewarding.”

Sharon, who has nine years of experience as a victim advocate, and Susan, who became a victim advocate six months ago, operate out of the Sumter County Public Safety Center in Wildwood. Ashley, a victim advocate for four years, works from the Sumter County Sheri ’s O ce in Bushnell.

Each underwent a 40-hour victim services practitioner designation training course. However, knowledge is only one component of being a successful victim advocate. It takes a big heart and sincere compassion to stand by people in their worst moments.

“Being a victim advocate is more about personality and who you are as a person versus knowledge,” Sharon says. “Anybody

can learn what we do as far as victim rights and what Florida statues says about victim rights, but it’s really about having a caring attitude and desire to help people.” They work with victims of all crimes, including domestic violence, sexual assault, homicide, property crime, child molestation, robbery, battery, and elderly abuse. Their role as victim advocates comes with a tremendously varied job description. A day’s work may consist of Ashley, a victim advocate for four years, versus knowledge,” Sharon says. “Anybody reading incident reports, making referrals reading incident reports, making referrals

Ashley Martinez, Susan Cook, and Sharon Howard

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