She said her role involved helping walk people through their “most vulnerable moments” and providing a listening ear, validating feelings and helping people feel normal during an abnormal time.
Wood also gave practical help accessing information and guidance from government agencies and police, court and coronial proceedings.
While some people would only need Wood’s support once, she was often involved with victims of crime for years as they dealt with the lengthy court processes.
Wood said the best part of her job was knowing she could make a difference.
“But it’s not massive, it’s just about getting people from a crisis point to a coping point,” Wood said.
She started volunteering with Victim Support when she was 30 after she took up a fulltime business job and missed the not-for-profit work she gave up.
“I felt like something was missing that served my soul - I can’t imagine not being involved with volunteering in some way.”
Wood said it was important for her to separate their emotions from her work, otherwise she would be “swamped”.
“You have to debrief outside of the job and have friends that fill up your cup.”
Victim Support helps about 50,000 victims every year across Aotearoa. Its support is free and available even if the crime is not reported to the police.
Harriet Laughton is a multimedia journalist based in the Bay of Plenty.
